Tiger of the Leaf
by Kuro Ori97
Summary: This story is about an OC named, Mugen Tora. A Shinobi who witnessed the death of the Fourth and his wife, the people who he considered his parents. He swore himself to look after Naruto and guide him when he has to. Rated M for cursing, maybe some violence and more. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO/NARUTO SHIPPUDEN.
1. Chapter 1: Goodbyes

**Author's Note/ Edit: Hey, Everyone! Sorry that I just noticed that this chapter was corrupted. Thank you again, I Growl For Fun, for letting me know about this ^^/ I hope you all enjoy this story, and have a good day!**

Goodbyes

 _"Shit, shit, shit! What the hell is going on here?! I close my eyes for who knows how long and this big orange nine tailed fox demon appeared?!"_ A young chuunin thought as he just woke up from his nap. He was sleeping in a forest near to the enraged demon and something else caught his attention. The Fourth Hokage was fighting a man with an orange mask.

"Minato-Sensei? Should I help him? He look like he can handle that guy by himself-!" The boy stopped talking to himself as the blonde ninja slammed his jutsu, that seemed like a blue spirally orb, into him and sent him flying until he hit a tree. "Way to go, Sensei!" They boy cheered and caught the Hokage's attention, surprised to see him there. "What are you doing here, Mugen? It's dangerous here, everyone has already evacuated!" He said and watched the boy walked up to him.

"Sorry, Sensei…but I was taking a nap and I woke up by the noises the fox makes!" He said while pointing at the demon. Minato sighed and shook his head. "Of all places you could sleep, Mugen…Nevermind, just go to the others. It's not safe here." Said Minato. Mugen nodded and was about to run before the Nine tailed Fox, roared and thrust it's claws into a building. Mugen saw a yellow flash went past him and it made him close his eyes.

As the boy opened his eyes, he was shocked. The shock made his body shook and made him drop on his knees. "No…" He said quietly, horrified at the scene as the Fox's claw went through the blonde Hokage and his wife, Kushina. "Is our son…okay, Kushina?" Minato asked in a low voice as he was in pain. "Y-Yes…Naruto is okay. Hehe, I'm happy that I get to carry out my duty…as a parent before I die.." She said with a smile. Minato chuckled, agreeing with his wife. Minato turned to look at the petrified boy and smiled at him. "Mugen…after I seal half of the Fox into Naruto…please take him to the third Hokage.." He said. Mugen couldn't hold his tears as it streamed down form both of his eyes. "B-but what about you and Kushina?" He asked. The couple chuckled and smiled at him. "I don't think we can live after having a big hole in our chest, Mugen." Said Kushina and she winced in pain. Minato knew that they have no much time left and he needs to seal the Fox quickly.

Minato and Kushina said their goodbyes to their son. Kushina cried as she realized that she won't get to see her son grow. Minato told her that he will sealed his and her chakra into him so that they can talk to him when the time Fox howled as he felt himself getting sucked into Naruto. The demon cursed before it was finally sealed in both Minato and his son. Mugen wiped his tears and slowly walked up to them after they sealed the Fox into the small baby and half of it into Minato using his Reaper Death Seal. Mugen picked up and held Naruto who was crying loudly. The boy choked and looked away as he noticed the two people that he considered as parents, were gone but with smile on their faces. _"I'll watch over him, that's a promise of a life time…Minato-Sensei…Kushina-San…"_ He thought and jumped on the buildings, over the dead bodies and making his way to the Hokage Mansion.

"Lord Hokage!" Mugen said as he jumped down in front of him. The old man was about to ask him what was wrong as he just crouched there, holding something. He was surprised to see a baby in his arm and something tells him that it's the Fourth's. "Lord Hokage…The Fourth…" Mugen said, struggled holding in his tears when he let out those words. The Third Hokage nodded, "I understand…come inside, we'll talk. The rest of you, aid the injured and head where Kushina was giving birth. Now!" He ordered and his ANBU quickly jumped away.

Mugen put Naruto down and made sure he was warm. The boy put his swords on the floor next to him. He turned to see the two elders and the Third Hokage walked into the room. "So that's…" The elder woman, Koharu, said and the Third gave her a nod. "Yes…It's Minato and Kushina's son, Naruto Uzumaki. Mugen, tell me everything that you saw." He said and the boy gave him a nod before telling the three of them everything.

The three sighed and looked down, sympathized on the young couple's death. "At least Minato managed to seal the thing before it creates more destruction. As about the mystery masked man, we should keep a secret but also investigate about him." The male elder, Homura, said. The Third gave them a nod and pat Mugen on his shoulder. "You've done enough, Mugen. Go and see how your friends are doing. Help them and then get some rest." He said. Mugen nodded but he kept looking at Naruto who was now quiet as he was asleep. "But what about Naruto? Who's going to take care of him?" He asked. Hiruzen was surprised that he cared for Naruto as he was containing the demon wreck havoc in his village. Then he smiled, glad that at least for now, some one cares about him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him. I'll let you know if anything comes up. And, keep this from anyone else. Understood?" He said and the chuunin gave him a nod before he picked up his swords and gave them a bow to excuse himself.

Mugen looked at the sleeping baby from outside of the room. _"I have to get stronger, a lot more stronger."_ He thought and walked away but stopped on his tracks as he heard an evil snicker. He turned around and saw the Nine Tailed Fox, charging towards him and about to attack him with its sharp claws, "Die!". Mugen gasped and sat up, covered in sweat. The young man panted and covered his face with his hand as he was startled from the nightmare. "Again, huh?" He said to himself before he looked out to his window as it is late at night and the moonlight made shined into his room.

 _Name: Tora Mugen a.k.a Tiger of the Leaf_

 _Age: 27 years-old_

 _Rank: Jounin_

 _Elements: Lightning and Water_


	2. Chapter 2: A Day at the Academy

**Author's Note: Hello~! Here's another chapter! I hope you liked the last one and I hope you like this one as well. I think I've might drawn out a bit in this one but let me know what you think. A review is appreciated!**

A Day at the Academy

After his sudden wake up call from his nightmare, he decided to take a late night walk in the village. While he was walking around, all the memories of when the Fox attack the village, rushed through his mind. He remembered the bodies, blood, fire, destroyed houses and buildings and people running in fear.

He shook the memories off from his head and kept walking the quiet streets. Then the wandering Tiger stopped on his tracks. _"Shit, I just walked out here without thinking…I hope there are no ghosts around…Brrrr! Great, now I'm shaking!"_ He thought to himself and rubbed his arms. He stopped in front of Ichiraku Ramen stall and hung his head. _"I wish old man Teuchi open up 24 hours…I could use a bowl or two right now."_ He thought and gave the stall one last look with a tear came out from his eye.

Mugen walked to his favorite spot in the village, the training grounds. He always sat under a tree near the grounds, sleeping, reading scrolls and make out series that was written by one of the Legendary Sannin. The young man sat down and rests his back against the tree along with his katana swords resting on the tree bark. _"I'm glad that I'm already out from the ANBU. Sure it gives bigger rewards and I get to become one of the Hokage's bodyguards but I need to chill out more."_ He thought and he stretched his arms forward.

 _"Another reason I left was so that I get to watch Naruto to become a genin. I left some groceries for him from time to time when I got back or about to go another mission. I've talked with Iruka, Naruto's homeroom teacher, and it seemed the little troublemaker found himself a rival, an Uchiha at that. Oh yeah, speaking of Iruka, he forgot that the Hokage wanted to see him. Looks like I get to swing by to the academy…great…"._

Later in the morning, Mugen made his way to the academy, tired and nervous. Mugen tends to don't know how or what to do with certain things. He used to be a loner, always liked to be by himself and shy away from others as he doesn't know how to approach them. Even when he has grown up, he doesn't know how to handle with kids and right now he was about to enter where almost all the kids in the village gather. The man sighed in front of the academy and slowly made his way to Iruka's class. His nervousness fade away a bit by the feeling of nostalgia. A bit of bitter sweet memories in the academy.

Mugen could hear Iruka teaching at the other side of the door to his class. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door before he came in when Iruka called him in. As we walked in, he felt that something was about to fall on him. His instincts kicked in, pulled out his katana and sliced whatever that was above him. The students gasped in surprised and looked at the Jonin sliced the blackboard duster in half. "Whoops, sorry, Iruka." Mugen said bluntly and sheathed his sword. "NARUTO!" Iruka yelled and managed to grabbed the blonde boy before he jumped out through the window and he hit him on his head. The students laughed at their classmate while he rubbed the swelling wound he got from his teacher.

"Sorry about that, Mugen. Is something up?" Iruka asked and walked away from the blackboard, towards the swordsman shinobi. "Don't worry about it and yeah, I forgot let you know yesterday that the Hokage wanted to talk to you. It's about Naruto, I think." He whispered and Iruka nodded. "I see, I better go and see him now. Can you look after the class for me? Thanks!" Iruka ran off before Mugen could say anything. He poked his head out from the classroom and saw that Iruka was already gone. _"This is going to be a long morning…"_ He thought and grunted.

Mugen stood in front of the students as they stare at him as they are both bored and curious. The man had already took off his swords and rest them against the wall next to the blackboard before he picked up the book Iruka was holding. _"Right, what were you teaching them again?"_ He thought as he flipped the pages until he gave up. "Ahem! Let me introduce myself before I ask you a question. My name is Tora Mugen, and what subject are you on at the moment?" He said and what caught his attention was one of the students raised her hand, she has pink hair and green eyes.

"Ummm, Iruka-Sensei was teaching us about Summoning Jutsu." She said and Mugen gave her a nod with a thank you. Even though he had a calm expression on his face, inside he let out a loud sigh of relief. _"Thank God! Something that I know and can do! And also not embarrass in front of these kids! Hell yeah!"_ He thought and turned his back against them. "Well, you guys are in luck. Instead of talking about it, maybe it's better if I show you! Summoning Jut-" Mugen had already bit his thumb and was about perform the Jutsu before he stopped halfway. _"Wait, should I do in here or outside? Shit…"_ He thought while the students tilted their heads in confusion. "Something wrong, Sensei?" One of the students asked. "W-Well, I was wondering if I can do a summoning in here." He said, without looking at them, embarrassed. "I think you can, as long as your summoning won't destroy things." A student said and ended it with a yawn. With just that, the man slammed his hand onto the wooden floor, "Summoning Jutsu!".

A puff of smoke appeared and the students looked at it, wondering what will appear. _"Yes! I will look so cool!"_ Mugen thought and smirked. A big white tiger appeared in the classroom and the students gasped out of amazement. The tiger was sleeping and he woke up with a growl, "Why am I surrounded with brats?" He said and turned to his summoner, clicked his tongue. "What was that for?!" Mugen asked with his eyes twitched and a vein popped out on his temple. "Ah, shut up…" The tiger said and yawned before he continued, "You disturbed my nap, you bastard. Tell me what the hell you want and make it quick, brat." He said and he started to lick his paw.

Mugen gritted his teeth and stopped with a wide smile as he got an idea. "Everyone, meet Naka! He's cute one, huh? Go on, pat the good old tiger." He said and the students quickly got off from their seats and pat it while a few were still in their seats, not interested. "H-Hey! You'll get this, Mugen…! Oh, that actually good. Yeah, pat there..~" The tiger said and started purring. While they were patting the tiger and squealing by how cute he was, Mugen started teaching them about summonings and their contracts.

Then, he decided to let them have a little fun spar and now they are outside. "Alright, nothing too serious and deadly and won't get me in trouble, got it? Or I'll have to step in. Okay, while two of you spar the others can fight the Iruka-Dummies I set up over there! Make sure you hit them with your hearts content. Now, go, bounce, peace out or whatever." Mugen said and walked over to a tree, resting his back against it while watching over them. Naka rolled his eyes at his master and sat next to him. "You're handling well in this situation. I'm quite surprised. Mugen?" Naka looked up at him and noticed he has his eyes on the blonde kid who kept throwing shurikens at the dummies but missed. And when he spar, he wanted to spar with the dark haired Uchiha.

"You can do it, Sasuke! Show him his place!" The girls cheered. Mugen clapped his hands as the sparring was over and ordered them to go back to class. He stopped by Naruto and offered him a hand as he was on the ground and covered in dirt. "Never give up, right?" He asked and Naruto looked up at him before he gave him a wide grin and grabbed his hand. "Yeah!". Iruka returned and was impressed at Mugen as he was a natural at teaching his students. After the academy was over and the kids went home. "Keep it up with your training, Naruto! And the same goes to you guys!" He said and waved at them.

"Wow, look at you. Finally, got out from your comfort zone, huh?" Said Iruka and he nudged him playfully. "Oh, shut it." Mugen replied with a chuckle. Iruka told him about his conversation with the Third. "I still don't understand what he meant though." Iruka said and sighed. Mugen patted his shoulder as he got up from his seat. "Don't worry, it'll come to you. The Third is always right, even something like you and Naruto are similar. I gotta go, thanks for the ramen." He said and left the stall.

Later that night, Mugen rushed to the Hokage Mansion as it was an emergency. Apparently, Naruto stole a scroll and he is on the run. Mugen gripped his hands, turning into fists when he heard the other Jonin bad mouthed the Jinchuuriki. "Go, scatter!" The Third Hokage ordered and they along with Mugen, vanished.

Mugen was jumping from tree to tree, hoping that Naruto is safe and still in the village. He stopped when he saw him crying over Iruka who was injured. Mugen jumped in front of the two and Naruto ran up to him, with the scroll in his hands. "Please! You gotta help, Iruka-Sensei! Here's the scroll! You gotta heal him!" He said with tears flowing down on his face. Mugen gave him assuring smile and pat his head. "I will, calm down." He turned and frowned at the fainted Jonin, Mizuki. _"You dumbass."_ Mugen kneel next to Iruka and pulled a small blade form his vest. "What are you going to do with that?" Naruto asked, worried that the man would injure his sensei. "Don't worry, this blade heals wounds by stabbing." He replied and stabbed Iruka's back. The blonde let out a sigh of relief as he saw the wound slowly healed. Mugen looked at him and smirked, "That looks good on you." He said and Naruto looked up, adjusting his headband that he got from Iruka. "Haha, I think so too!"


	3. Chapter 3: Rescue

**Author's Note: Hey, Everyone! I'm sorry for the long, LONG delay! I hit a writer's block awhile ago and I didn't have time to continue my story because of family problems...I'm still having some problems, unfortunately BUT I have been writing this story up to five more chapters including this one! I'm sorry if my story doesn't make sense as in the Anime since I never finished Naruto and I have vague memories of it so you might noticed some differences in the story. I hope you enjoy and if you noticed any errors, please let me know!^^/**

Rescue

Mugen, along with other Jonin shinobi were gathered in front of the Third Hokage as some of them are going to lead and guide their team of Genin who just graduated from the academy. Everyone knelt down in front of the old Hokage and he called out his subordinates' names. Asuma leads Team Ten, Kurenai with Team Eight, Team 7 for Kakashi and a team that is led by Guy and called it Team Guy. In his mind, Mugen gave his condolences to Guy's students. The man smirked when he heard Naruto's name in Kakashi's team, knew that he will be in good hands. "That is all, you are all dismissed except for you, Mugen." Said Hiruzen, earning a surprised look on Mugen's face.

 _"No way, am I going to get my own students?! Damn it, old man! I told you I don't wanna~!"_ He whined in his thought and gave the Hokage a nod. When everyone left except for both of them, Mugen quickly crawled to Hiruzen's feet. "Please, Gramps! I don't want to lead a team! You know I always being solo, right?!" He said, in a begging position. The Third Hokage was surprised by his actions and knocked him on his head to silence him. "Enough with your nonsense! Are you going to be solo until you die then?!" He said and a vein popped out on Mugen's head. "What was that, old man?!"

Hiruzen inhaled his pipe and blew out a puff of smoke. "Relax, I'm not assigning you to a team because there were just enough students for Kakashi and the rest. I'm going to send you as reinforcement." He said and piqued Mugen's interest. "Sure, I'll take it. Who am I going to help?" He asked with a smirk on his face and slammed his fist into his palm. "Anko." The Third simply said and Mugen dropped his hands, looking down. "I know about you two's history with each other but put that aside and help her and get the mission done." He said before he let out another puff of smoke from his pipe.

"Can't you ask someone else? I know there are a few Jounin are out on missions but there are still a few more in the village." Mugen asked and the third sighed. "I know but you seemed perfect for this. No buts! Go, that's an order." He said and Mugen gave him a nod before he walked out of the office. Mugen was making his way back to his apartment to get ready. He sighed and thought, _"It's not like I dislike her. In fact, she was the first person that I get along with when I was little. We were best friends and she introduce me to Kakashi and the others. Haha, she was so cheerful and hyper…until that day when she as kidnapped and become Orochimaru's experiment…"_

Mugen received flashes of memories when he along with Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai and Asuma went out of the village to rescue their friend. He shook his head and he remembered her condition when he found her. Orochimaru's lab was like something from a nightmare. Bodies, blood, broken flasks and scrolls. Younger Mugen stood there with other Jounins and a couple ANBUs. His attention was caught when he noticed two bodies in the pile, they were Anko's teammates. One of them was a Hyuuga and everyone gasped to see he doesn't have his eyes, Orochimaru removed them.

Mugen picked up some extra blades for healing and jumped out his room through his apartment. The Jounin jumped on building to building, heading to the village gates. The two Jounins that were stationed at the big gates were surprised when they saw something jumped in front of them and through the gate. "O-Oi! You have to sign first before you head out! Damn it, how many times…" One of them said and stomped his way back into the boot with his comrade. "Actually, I think they already did. Or 'he' to be exact." Said the other Jounin and showed him the log. They both chuckled, "He always likes to do everything fast as if he was in a hurry. That Mugen bastard."

After a few hours of jumping from branch to branch, Mugen stopped and turned his head to the tree trunk next to him. There were a few small insects swarming on the trunk and he immediately knew what they were. The bugs led him to an injured Aburame. "Hey, Muta! I got here as fast as I can!" Said Mugen and he wasted no time stabbing the wounded shinobi with his healing blade. The Aburame groaned in pained, "Damn it, Mugen! At least give me a warning or time before you stab me!". "Which is more important? Your life or luxury?!" Mugen yelled back at him and they both went quiet.

"So, what are dealing with?" Mugen asked in his serious tone as he was worried to about the other two members of Muta's team. "We got ambushed by the Sound…and what made things worse, they made a deal with the Cloud to give a Hyuuga to them as a sign of alliance for some sort.." He said and stopped to drink water that was given to hime by Mugen. "And I'm guessing they are still here, looking for you?" Mugen asked and received a nod from him. He stood up and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, stay hidden and gather your strength. I'll give our buddies some sleep." He said and pulled a few ninja tools.

"He couldn't have gone that far! Hurry before he managed to call reinforcements!" One of the Sound Jounin yelled to his comrades while jumping from branch to branch. "Yeah, a little too late for that, Captain-San." Mugen said as he jumped out from the trees and punched the shinobi in front of him, sending him flying until they heard a loud thud in the distance. While the others caught by surprise and was about to attack their enemy, Mugen swung his blade at them. All four of them guarded themselves with their arms until they slowly noticed nothing happened to them. "Ha! Was that suppose to do something?!" "Some useless reinforcement you are- Argh!" One of them started screaming in pain.

The Sounds' teammates looked at their comrade screaming in agony before falling to the ground. Then, another started screaming until they were all on the ground. Mugen was playing with his blade while looking down at them. "Aw, you've hurt his young man's feelings…that's not nice." He said with a chuckle and looked at the bugs crawling on his blade. When he swung his blade at the Sound ninjas, he launched the bugs at them and they started sucking out their chakra until there was nothing left. "Hope that is enough to get Muta on his feet." He said and watched the bugs flew back to their master. Mugen heard an explosion near where the Aburame was rested and knew that some of the ninjas went around the battle between him and the Sound. "Gotcha."

Anko was long awake and she already knew that she have got tied up. She recognized the tent as it was the same one she used to spy on the Sound ninjas. In front of her were more Sound ninjas and a a couple of ninjas from the Hidden Cloud. "Hey, you pieces of shits! Where and what did you do to my teammates?!" She asked loudly and doesn't care to insult them despite being vulnerable. One of the Sound punched her at her stomach, making her bent her body over and coughed. "Know your place, woman. Don't get all high and mighty just because you were Lord Orochimaru's test subject. He doesn't mind if he hurt you, as long as you are alive and intact." He said and walked away from the kunoichi. Anko growled at them and spit out some of her blood to the side, frustrated being useless and for letting herself as well as her team, captured.

Then, the ground under her shook and a loud noise came from the distance. "What the hell was that? The enemy?!" One of the Sound ninjas said. "Hmph, if you don't resolve this then our deal is off." The Cloud ninja said. "I know! I'm handling it! What are you idiots waiting for? Go, already!" He shouted to his men and they quickly ran out from the tent.

"Ah! Argh! C-Captain-!" Screams were heard outside of the tent and the captain of the Sound ninja pulled out his kunai to defend himself. "Hey, Cloud ninjas! Back me up!" He said and got no response. He turned to see that the ninjas had left him and the fainted Hyuuga that was lying on the ground. "Shit…!" The man cursed. Mugen appeared behind the man and put one blade near his throat while the other at his side. "Shit indeed, my friend. Night night." He said and hit his head, made him fall unconscious.

Anko was surprised to see him of all people. She turned her head away, avoiding eye contact from her once best friend. "Hey." Mugen greeted but didn't get no reply as kneel down in front of her, cutting the rope. She rubbed her wrist and looked up to see a hand. "Come on, Princess. We're outta here." He said, gave her a smirk. Anko closed her eyes as she got up by herself and walked out of the tent. "Hey, Muta! Are you out there?" She yelled out. Mugen sighed and picked up Tokuma, carrying him over his shoulder.

"Anko-San..I'm glad that you're alright." Said Muta, resting while leaning against a tree. Anko walked up to him to help him walk but she flinched from the pain in her stomach. She hissed and put her hand over her injuries. "You hurt, aren't you? Sit your ass down and let me heal you." Mugen said as he walked up to them and put Tokuma against the tree. "No need. I need to hurry and report to Lord Hokage." She said, stubbornly.

"That can wait, Anko. Your teammates are hurt so shut it and rest." He said while kneeling next to Muta, healing his injuries by using his blade. Anko was reluctant but decided to give in for her teammates' sake.


	4. Chapter 4: Wound of Regrets

Wound of Regrets

While they were rested, Tokuma finally came to his senses. "What happened…? The Sound ninjas!" He suddenly jumped up and went into his stance while looking around using his Byakugan. "Stand down, Tokuma. They're down, thanks to Mugen…" Anko explained. The Hyuuga let out a sigh of relief and sat back down. "You hurt anywhere? I can stab you and heal you~" Mugen asked jokingly as if really trying to hurt him while making a funny face.

"Hahaha, I'm good, thank you. What about you, Anko-San? Are you hurt?" He asked and the kunoichi gestured to her stomach. Tokuma immediately apologized for his carelessness but Anko claimed that it was her fault and the Muta joined in until Mugen yelled at them to silence them. "At this point, who even cares? You're alive, right? Just don't do the same mistakes. Let me see your stomach, Anko." Said Mugen. Anko refused and eventually give in due to the man's stubbornness. Mugen just gave her an ointment and told her to get treated at the village.

He explained he cannot stab her stomach to heal her or the will come out and bleed her to death. Muta was already helping Tokuma to walk and Mugen insisted to help the stubborn snake kunoichi. "Just leave me alone will ya?!" She yelled, smacking Mugen's hand away from her. She looked down, balled up her hands and shadow covered her eyes. "I can walk by myself…" She said and walked on ahead before she jumped on one of the branches.

Tokuma and Muta sighed at her stubbornness before they gave a pity look to Mugen. They both knew about his and hers past. From best friends, to a crush and then they were no longer friends. Mugen looked at them, "What? Let's go." He said and jumped on one of the branches. When the returned to the village, Kotetsu and Izumo greeted them. "Welcome back, everyone! Glad you made it safe and sound. Oh~! No wonder Mugen was in such a hurry, it's because of Anko!" One of them joked and stopped when Mugen shook his head slowly, gesturing them to stop. Anko was surprised when they said that and she gripped her hands tighter. "Go to the hospital, you two. I'll go report to Lord Hokage." She said and walked away.

"Hey. Hey, Anko!" Mugen called out to her and walked up to her through the crowd. Anko jumped on one of the buildings and headed to the Hokage Mansion. The male Jounin jumped as well and chased her. "Tch!" He sped up and grabbed her arm. They were both on a rooftop of an apartment. "Let go of my arm, Mugen…" Anko said in a low voice, still avoiding eye contact with him. "Anko, what happened in the past was a long time ago. I'm not holding any grudges or anything! I know you felt guilty because I got hurt from saving you from Orochimaru but damn it, I don't care!" Said Mugen, letting out his feelings and what he wants to say to her.

"You're my friend, best friend…I want you back." He said and this time in a low voice, like a plea. A couple drops of tears fell from her eyes, down to the hard rooftop floor. "I…can't. I'm sorry.." Mugen didn't expect her to apologize to him and she took the chance to pull her arm free before jumping away."I wonder what was up between those two?" Nartuo asked as he was coincidentally walked down the street with his new team and saw what happened. "You won't understand, Naruto! The complications of untold love…" Said Sakura while grasping her hands together and sighed. Naruto just watched her, doesn't understand what she have meant. "Come on, it's not good to interfere senseis' affairs!" The the pink haired girl and she dragged the blonde to catch up with Sasuke and Kakashi. Kakashi also noticed what happened and all he can do was sigh. _"Those two should just kiss already…They reminded me of the characters in the Make Out Series! Watching them might be more interesting…"_ Kakashi sighed again and scratched the back of his head. "What am I thinking…?" He asked himself, earning a confused look from the young Uchiha.

The day has started to rain. Mugen was in his room, lying on his bed. And by the sound of crackling thunder as well as the sound of raindrops, a memory triggered in not only his mind but to the purple haired kunoichi as she just stood on the roof of the Hokage Mansion, staring at the gray sky. And they both touched the scar on their bodies.

 _15 years ago…_

 _"I gotta hurry..! Please stay alive, Anko! We're coming!"_ Mugen hoped as he, along with his friends searching for their friend outside of the village. Kakashi and Guy searched at the east side from the village, Asuma to the south and, Kurenai and Mugen to the north. While running through the thick forest, Kurenai turned to the boy next to her. "Calm down, Mugen. It will hinder your focus." She advised but Mugen didn't try to calm himself down, the anger is what was helping him right now. The anger against an ex shinobi of the Leaf Village, Orochimaru.

"How could I not, Kurenai?! She trusted him, idolized him! I swear when I have my sights on him…" Said Mugen, gritting his teeth and growled until he noticed fear from the dark haired girl. "S-sorry…Come on, let's go…" He said and ran ahead. Kurenai looked up at the dark sky, noticed that it is going to be dark soon. Meaning it will be difficult for them to find Anko and that they are running out of time.

Anko was unconscious and lying on a cold metal table while Orochimaru looking over some scrolls. The man looked at the unconscious girl with a smirk. "Oh, how glad am I to met you, Anko? Was it luck or fate that I found the right specimen for my research." He said and chuckled. The man looked over the ten dead bodies or what he calls, 'failed test subjects', and called his assistant to throw them out. "But Orochimaru-Sama, we can use them for future research like Edo Tensei. They could be useful for your Immortality jutsu as well." The boy suggested. Orochimaru chuckled, "Fine, do what you please just get them out of my sight." He said and walked over to Anko, giving her the Curse Seal of Heaven.

Kurenai and Mugen were panting on a branch, catching their breaths and rest. "It's getting dark out there, Mugen. What should we do?" Kurenai asked. Mugen wiped off the beads of water on his face with his arm, thinking the possibility of where Orochimaru's hideout. While he was thinking, his other friends joined them. "Sorry, no luck from our side." Said Kakashi, and the same answer was given from Asuma.

"I know it's hard to just wait in the morning but that's the only option we can do for now." Kurenai said again, trying to convince her friend. Mugen's balled up fist was finally loosened, "You're right, we should take that as an opportunity to get some rest." He said and the others gave him a nod. Kakashi patted him on his shoulder, "Be patient, for Anko's sake." He said and he jumped away, heading back to the village with Guy and Asuma. Kurenai took the boy's hand, "Let's go."

Anko grunted as she felt a sharp pain of headache and slowly opening her eyes. The room she was in was lit with one candle, it has a desk and a chair as well as a bed she was currently sat on at the moment. "Where am I?" She asked herself and jumped when the door suddenly opened and a familiar face walked in. She grew a smile on her face, "Orochimaru-Sensei! What's going on? Where are we?" She asked and the man chuckled. "We're in my lab, child. A new one in fact since my old lab was so small and cramped." He said. The Sannin then told her that she received a Curse Seal, and for covering up that he had ten failed test subjects, he instead saying she was special.

Anko felt happy at first but from what she heard about the Curse Seal from Orochimaru, she started to dislike it and want to get out. "Thanks, Sensei for giving me such a thing! But I think I gotta go now, it seems kinda dark out." She said. Orochimaru shook his head, he doesn't want his valuable test subject to run away and to do that he need to do something to make her obey him. "Why not stay for the night? Besides there are more things I want to talk to you about your Curse Seal. Stay with me and you will become a powerful shinobi!" He said. _"And a valuable vessel!"_ He thought and chuckled.

Anko felt uneasy from Orochimaru. He was no longer the sensei she looked up to. This man, was no longer human. The girl quickly made a dash out from her room and earned a sigh of disappointment from Orochimaru. "I guess just asking you to stay won't work." He said and chuckled before he continued. "No matter, plan B then." Anko was running in a hall with a lot of doors left and right. "Come on, come on! Where's the freaking exit?!" She said and she stopped on her tracks when she noticed a boy wearing spectacles.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing here?" Anko asked. The boy looked at her and smiled, "What a relief! Please help me, I'm lost. I just woke up in a room." He lied while ready to use something on the clueless girl. "I see…I'm glad I wasn't the only one! I don't know where the exit is either but let's go look for it together." Anko suggested and walked past the boy until he immediately formed a hand sign. "Or you should just stay there and get your memory altered." He said and smirked as he looked at the frozen Anko.

Orochimaru slowly walking up to them with his usual creepy chuckle. "Good work, Kabuto. Let me take it from here." He said and performed a hand sign in front of Anko. The girl's eyes were wide open before she let out a scream of agonizing pain in her head. Anko was about to fell as she was unconscious again but was caught by her sensei. Orochimaru carried her back to her room while his eyes is full of curiosity on what does the Curse Seal has to offer for this man.

Mugen was lying in his room, couldn't sleep because Anko was in his mind. He tossed and turned until he decided to sharpened or repair his katanas. While the boy was doing so, an idea popped into his young and yet impatient mind. "Summoning Jutsu!" The boy slammed his hand down on the tatami mat and a white tiger cub appeared behind a cloud of white smoke. "Hmm? What do you want..? I'm sleepy…" The tiger said and yawned. "Naka, I need you to help train the Sage Mode! Please, it's an emergency!" The boy asked and the tiger turned away from him.

"Sheesh, calm yourself down! And stop yelling! God… Look, like I told you before it takes a long time to master it. It took your dad almost three years to master and above all, we're both still little!" Said Naka, angrily as he was annoyed by getting disturbed from his slumber. "In that case, can you help me find someone? Please." He asks, and eventually bowed his head to the tiger cub. The tiger jumped and understood that the boy was serious. "I'll ask about the situation later. What do you wanna know?" He asked.


	5. Chapter 5: Into The Snake's Nest

**Author's Note: Hey! Sorry for the late update, been busy with some stuff and also been busy playing FFXV. Man, I love that game! XD By the way, I never edited these chapters so, if you see any errors or misspells, I'm sorry. And also, what do you think of the story so far? I hope it's not cringey or anything^^"/ Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. It's a bit long but I hope you had a good time reading it. Have a good day!**

Into The Snake's Nest

"Are you sure that's where Anko is?" Mugen asked while he was on a branch, looking at a staircase leading into underground. Naka was on his shoulder and he gave a few more sniffs before gave his summoner a nod. "Yeah, no doubt about it but be careful because this place reeks. I can smell dead bodies from here even the other animals that live here stayed away." He said and Mugen looked around as there were none alive in the area but them.

"You can go now, you've done a lot already." Said Mugen, while he checked his blades and ninja tools. Naka looked at him, surprised but also worried. "Are you sure? It's not a walk in the park, you know?" He asked and received a nod from the boy. "I'll be fine, don't worry." The boy said with confidence. "Famous last words. Well, if you need me to hold your hand again just give me a call." The cub said and turned into a puff of smoke. Mugen smirked, "Heh, wise ass."

Mugen slowly made his way into the underground base and walked along the candle lit walls. He already had his katanas ready and his eyes were on the move every second in case there was a trap or an enemy. The boy checked every room and was surprised that all of them were normal rooms with just beds, chairs and desks. _"Is this a hideout or a refugee camp?"_ He thought before he kept moving.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Mugen jumped and immediately on his defensive stance after he turned around. He was surprised to see it was his purpled hair friend and grew a smile on his face. "Anko! Damn it, don't scare me like that! Haha! Come on, let's get out of here." He said and was about to grab her hand to take her to the exit. Anko slapped her hand away, looking at the boy in front of her with hatred. "I'm not going anywhere, you liar." She said and her Curse Seal started to glow before black snake scale-like patterns started to cover some areas of her body. "Anko, what are you talking about? And what happened to you? Did that bastard did this to you?!" He asked and Anko's eyes widen of rage from the last question. She leapt forward, punching him and sent him flying. Mugen couldn't see what happened as she was so fast and before he knew it, he felt a sharp pain on his back as he hit a hard wall.

The boy fell to the stoned floor, coughing out blood. _"What the hell is going on? Is she pissed for not eating dango for awhile? Ugh, be serious for a bit, will you?! Orochimaru did something to her…Brainwash? Oh, shit here she comes!"_ The boy rolled to his left to dodge Anko's snake attack which made a hole in the wall. She did some hand signs and spew poison fog towards him, making him run away from her as the corridor was filled with poisonous fog. Mugen looked up at the ceiling and got ready to pull out his sword. "Hope this works…" He mumbled and slashed the ceiling, cutting it open to the surface. The fog stopped chasing him and was sucked out through the ceiling.

Mugen turned around as he heard a slow clap behind him. "Calm and quick. A good idea cutting the ceiling like that, Mugen." Said Orochimaru, snickered at the boy. Mugen gritted his teeth as his mind was starting to be filled with hatred toward the shinobi. "You bastard, what did you do to Anko?! Huh?!" He asked and started growling. Orochimaru was also fascinated towards the boy as he was from a clan that wasn't originated in the Leaf but from the land of Steal, land of the Samurais.

"Mugen, Mugen, Mugen… You're always make me interested in you, you techniques and your clan. But knowing you, you won't want to join me and be my specimen, right? It's such a shame…but you know what is even more shame?" He said and asked. At this point Mugen blocked him out from his head as words coming from his mouth were not important to him. Orochimaru continued, "How dare you just left Anko to me like that? Your own friend?" He asked and made the boy confused.

"What do you mean? Are you out of your mind or something?!" Mugen asked angrily and was about to attack him. "Why don't you just answer his question, Mugen? Tell me the truth. I want to listen from your own lips." Mugen turned to look Anko was walking towards him and Orochimaru. "Again, what do you mean?! I came here to rescue you because this traitor kidnapped you! Not just me but the others were looking for you last night! Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai and Asuma!" He said and saw Anko was getting even angrier. "Why do you keep lying to me…? You of all people..Just tell me that you weren't bothered to save me! It was a lost cause! Orochimaru told me, that you guys followed orders and gave up on me! And thought I would be better off with him because I adored him!" Said Anko, lashing out her anger and balled up her fists.

Mugen was speechless. How could she thought like that? How can she believed him?! "Anko, I-" Mugen was cut off by Orochimaru as he called Anko to come with him and told her to let his men get rid of him. Anko disappeared and reappeared next to her sensei before they both walked into the darkness. "Wait!" He was about to chase them before a lot of ninjas ran towards him and from behind. He looked at them and noticed they were Sound ninjas.

"What are the Sound ninjas doing with a Sannin of the Leaf?" Mugen asked, looking at them and defend himself. "Orochimaru-Sama is our leader now. He showed us his strength and wisdom, and thus we will follow him even if it costs our lives." One of them said and some of them took out their kunais. "I have no time for this…!" He said and as he was about to cut them all open, at the distance from the direction of the entrance were screaming and sounds of crushing as well as explosion. "Chidori!" Kakashi went passed a group of them, electrocute them until they fall to the ground like flies.

Guy used his profession, Taijutsu, beating them one by one while Asuma used his chakra blades and defeated them easily. Kurenai stayed behind and ready to heal her friends if they got injured. "You should watch your back, little girl." Three sound ninjas appeared from her, and was about to capture her when their hands went through her body. The girl's body turned into rose petals and the petals raining down around them until they all three were cut them in an instant.

"You guys…Wait, how do you guys know about this place." He asked them and completely ignore the other group of Sound ninjas behind him. Kakashi was about to explain to before Kurenai stomped past him and slapped Mugen on his cheek. The other three boys were silent as they already know to not get into Kurenai's way when she was angry at someone or just plain angry. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?! WHY DID YOU WENT ALONE, YOU DUMBASS!" She yelled again and hit him more. Kakashi sweatdropped while Asuma and Guy covered their eyes, painful to see their friend getting beaten up to a pulp.

"I-I-I'm…-" Mugen tried to speak by raising his hand and Kurenai glared down at him. "You what?! Depend on your answer, I will mess that idiotic mind of yours using my Genjutsu!" Said Kurenai. The Sound ninjas just stood there and actually felt pity for the boy despite his is their enemy. "I-I'm shorry..! Ash shoon ash Naka knew vhere she vwas, I jusht move witshout thinking…" Said Mugen. Most epeople didn't understand what he was saying due to the cause his lips were swollen. However, Kakshi and the others understood him and they were also jumped when Naka mentioned where the young Mitarashi was held.

While they were standing there, more Sound ninjas came running down the hall. "You handle Anko, we got your back." Said Asuma, getting into his stance. "What do you say, Kakashi? Want to have a contest to see who gets to beat the most ninjas?" Guy asked and gave the white haired his usual smile. "No." Kakashi replied deadpanned but the Taijutsu didn't back down and before he knew it, Kakashi was competing against him. "Bring her back to us, Mugen." Said Kurenai and she threw an ointment to the injured boy as well as a smile. Mugen blushed and smirked before she turned to the ninjas that were just stood behind him.

Orochimaru was preparing to pack his things and move to another hideout. Anko helped him and Kabuto until something made them stop. Mugen panted and glared at them except Anko. "What's the hurry? You're missing out the party." He said and Kabuto was prepared to fight as he pulled out a scalpel. Orochimaru raised his hand, telling the boy to stop. "How did you get here so fast, Mugen?" The Sannin asked. Mugen smirked, "My friends helped me to bring our friend back. Anko, we're going to play, laugh, tease Guy, take the Chuunin, become Jounin and tease Guy again! They came, we all came for you! Do you actually thought we would follow orders to abandon our friend?! Dumbass! Idiot! You made me opened up to others-" Mugen stopped and blocked Orochimaru's sword attack. "I ain't finished yet!" Mugen yelled and knocked the him back.

Orochimaru's neck went back to its body and he held the sword in his hand. "Kabuto,show our friend that it's already passed his bedtime. I'm done with his laughable ramblings. Come, Anko. Anko?" Orochimaru looked at the girl next to her and saw that she was in shock. She grasp her head, feeling the sharp pain again. "I'm taking you back…I'm taking my best friend back!" He said and ran to Kabuto. Mugen sheathed his swords and pulled one of them out quickly to Kabuto's stomach after he managed to avoid his chakra attacks. The boy with spectacles bent his body over and his face was knocked back up from Mugen's flip kick.

Mugen landed on a wall and launched himself at Orochimaru. Swords clashed and sparks fly as the two fought around in the room. "Kabuto! Stand up, boy! Take Anko through the emergency exit, I will catch up after I kill all the pests." He said and smirked at the boy he was fighting. Kabuto slowly getting up and recovering from the damage Mugen gave him. He was about to grab Anko's hand before four snakes launched at him, pushing him against the wall and made him unconscious. Orochimaru looked at the girl and she glared at him. "Foolish child."

"You're going to pay for what you made me did, Orochimaru!" Anko said and attacked him using her snakes. Orochimaru fought back with his own snakes. "Enough of this. You were a valuable specimen but it's a shame that I have to kill you now." Orochimaru bit on his sword and launched his neck at the girl. Anko was about to attack but her body failed her as she fell on her knees. _"Shit!"_ Anko closed her eyes. She opened them slowly and saw her best friend blocked the attack. She smiled and stood up but as she does, she got a better look on the damage Mugen received. Orochimaru's blade went through his right side chest. "M-Mugen…" She said softly. Mugen slowly turned his head and gave a smirk. "I ain't dying, not yet anyway. As for you, now that I have you where I wanted…" Mugen turned back and looked at Orochimaru. The Sannin tried to pull out his sword but the guard was stuck in between the two katanas. "Tora Style: Swift Claw!" Mugen puched his swords up and quickly slashed Orochimaru's body downward diagonally from his left shoulder to his left hip.

Orochimaru yelled in pain and staggered. He put his hand on his chest and watched a lot of his blood were on the floor. He clicked his tongue and quickly grabbed Kabuto. "Until next time, you two…I'll kill you another time." He said and threw a smoke bomb. As the cloud of smoke dissipates, he and the boy vanished. Mugen let out a sigh of relief and sheathed his swords before falling on his knee. "Mugen!" Anko quickly went to his side, holding him. "It's okay, I'm fine…I'm just glad that I managed to save you.." Said Mugen and smiled at her. He was surprised when the girl buried her face into his shirt, crying. Mugen patted her back and grabbed one of his healing blades, stabbing into his chest.

Not too long after that, Kakashi and the others ran into the room where the two were. They let out a sigh of relief to see Anko was safe and sound but immediately grabbed their injured friend and got out of the nightmare underground hideout. Asuma helped Mugen by putting his arm around his neck. "Thanks, Asuma…" He said and the boy just reply to him with a smile. "You were being reckless again you, idiot!" Kurenai said and she was on a verge of crying but held her tears in. "Now, now Kurenai. Let's leave the lecture and punishment for later. Let's get them home." Kakashi suggested and everyone gave him a nod. Before they headed back to their home, they stopped to look at the bright morning sunrise.

Mugen looked at Anko and she looked at him as well. Mugen gave her a smile but she looked down. Anko felt guilty for not trusting her friends and for getting her best friend hurt. She clenched her fist and swore to herself to kill Orochimaru. _"It's the least I can do…It's my responsibility as his student!"_ She thought.

 _End of flashback_

Anko still remembered that day as if it was just yesterday and as the started to get dark, she decided to head home. Mugen was watching the rain pouring down through his window. _"It was raining when we were looking for her…Damn it…every time when it rains, the scars starts to throb!"_ He thought and rubbed it gently. _"Anko.."_


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontation

Confrontation

Mugen was out having lunch with his friends in a popular barbecue restaurant. He listened to his friends who are now have their own students. Mugen watched as Asuma was talking happily with Kurenai while Kakashi tired to avoid getting roped into Guy's ridiculous challenges as rivals. "Haha, you guys sound like you have your hands full with them but you seemed quite happy." The swordsman pointed out and they all smiled, agreeing him. "It's not bad but it's not the worse thing. You should try it, Mugen." Said Kurenai.

"Hahaha! That would be fun to watch! He would be so awkward in front of them. I heard from my students what you did at the academy." Said Asuma, laughing and drinking his beer. "Oh, great...!" Said Mugen and slammed his face on the table. "You're pretty lucky that he was teaching Summoning Jutsu. Just imagine how it would turned out otherwise." Said Kakashi, sighed. Mugen huffed and drank his beer. "But seriously though, you're not going to teach and lead your own students?" Kurenai asked and everyone at the table looked at him.

Mugen sighed and put down his glass on the table. "I'm not sure if I can…it's a responsibility that I don't want to bear.." He said, without looking at them. "You're talking about Orochimaru. Aren't you?" Said Kakashi. Mugen shrugged and looked outside, watching a group of kids chasing each other, screaming and playing. "I don't want to slip up and turn one of my students into the most wanted shinobi." He said took another drink from his beer. "Stupid. You can't control someone from being evil, Mugen. It just happens. If they become evil, it's not our fault. Sometimes it could be our fault but sometimes it is one's self." Said Kurenai, earned a nod from Asuma and Guy. Mugen groaned and rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright…you're right. But that doesn't mean I'm going to become a sensei. Ah, ah, ah! No, drop it." Said Mugen, as they tried to convinced him. They gave up on the subject and talked about something else especially about the upcoming Chuunin Exams.

Mugen listened while resting his chin on his hand. He looked around his table and felt something was missing. "Hey, Mugen." Everyone turned and greeted to that something, Anko. "H-hey. What's up?" He asked. "Lord Hokage summoned both of us including some other as one of the exam proctor." She said bluntly, avoiding the others' gaze and just stare at the swordsman. It took Mugen a few minutes to register what the kunoichi just said to him before he yelled, surprised. "S-s-seriously?! Damn it, we just talked about this!" The man panicked while rubbing his hair frantically. He finally stopped when Kakashi and the others told him to as the villagers in the restaurant were staring. "You're so embarrassing, Mugen…" Said Kakashi, letting out a sigh while Guy complimented him saying that he was happy that the man still has youth in him.

Anko turned and looked at him at the corner of her eye. "Come on, stop stalling and follow me!" She said and she walked out from the restaurant. Mugen got up from his table and veins on his temple started to show when his friends teased him, saying he was being scolded by the Mitarashi. "Shut up!" He yelled, put down his money and quickly followed the woman.

There were just silence between the two. Whenever Mugen wanted to walk side by side with her, she picked up her pace. He let out a sigh as he knew what he was about to say will not go into her head but he said it anyway. "You feel responsible on your sensei's actions and won't stop until you find him. I guess you will be back to normal when that happened but I'm sure it will be a long time…I missed my best friend who always laughed with me and our friends.." He said while looking at her and she didn't turned to look at him but kept walking. Mugen was about to grabbed her hand but she slapped it away but this time, Mugen managed to grab her with his other hand. "I want my friend back, it has been so damn lonely without her!" Said Mugen, holding her arm tightly.

Anko gritted her teeth, "Let me go…Damn it, why did I have to come and get you? You're an eyesore, minding people's business and a thorn of my side! Leave me alone and stop grabbing people like that!" Anko said and she broke free her arm while glaring at her. Mugen was surprised but not just by her words, she had tears dropping from her eyes. She ran off before the man could call out to her. He looked down and clicked his tongue before he went to the Hokage Mansion.

The Hokage told Mugen along with other Jounin about their tasks and which exam they have to be a proctor. As everyone had got their tasks, they were dismissed except Mugen as he didn't received his task. He didn't realize because his mind was on Anko. "Hey, Mugen!" The Hokage's words managed to enter his head and he replied by giving him a nod. "S-sorry, Lord Hokage…What is it?" He asked. The Third Hokage was surprised that he actually called him 'Lord Hokage' as he has always been calling him old man when no one was around.

The old Hokage cleared his throat before he said, "I want you to watch over the exams. It's not that I don't trust the Sand and the Sound but it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Whatever methods you use is fine just make sure no one suspects us suspecting them. The Anbu will also watch the events so, I want you to help each other." He said and smoked on his pipe. Mugen nodded, "Right, anything else?" He asked and was confused when the Hokage let out a tired sigh. "Please stay focused…This is an important task I'm giving you. Either you and Mitarashi talk and settle things now or do it after the exams!" He said. Mugen asked him how did he knew. "Come on, boy. I know the history between you two and you're actually an open book when you're troubled about something." The Hokage replied. "Now, run along and tell Mitarashi about her task. Try to get along." He said and the swordsman excused himself.

Anko was in the Forest of Death, sitting on a tree branch with her back resting against the trunk. Her mind kept repeating the scene between her and Mugen. She felt bad for saying all those things to her and it was on accident because they kept pushing her buttons. _"Damn it…now I don't know f I should just leave it at that or apologize…I thought of talking to him about when we were on the roof and apologize about that as well but I didn't expect him to say that to me! Why does he have to be so stupid! Of all times he has to be a goofball…Idiot…"_ She thought and she buried her face into her knees while hugging them tightly.

While Mugen was looking for Anko, he ran into one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, and Naruto. The swordsman called out to them and greeted the legendary Sannin. "Oh, Mugen! It has been awhile!" Said Jiraiya and both him and Mugen shook hands. "Yes, it has. Hey, Naruto." Mugen greeted the boy and ruffled his already messy blonde hair, making him grin. The three then went to Ichiraku's Ramen as the two adults catch up. "So, how was the journey? Still doing your 'research'?" Mugen asked and Jiraiya laughed. "It was great! And of course I did my research, my boy! Expect another issue coming out soon!" He said, cheerfully.

Mugen laughed as well, "Haha, looking forward to it, Master Jiraiya!". Naruto slurped his ramen before he asked Mugen, "Sensei, how do you and Pervy Sage knew each other?" He asked. Mugen almost spit out his ramen out of laughter from Naruto calling Jiraiya 'Pervy Sage'. _"Hahaha, that's a good one!"_ He thought and was rolling on the ground, laughing without the care in the world, in his mind. "Yeah, a long time ago. He was the fourth Hokage's sensei, you know?" He said and the blonde's eyes widen before he turned Jiraiya. "Is that true, Pervy- Ow! What's the big idea?!" The blonde yelled and held his head as Jiraiya hit him.

"Don't call me that! Especially around other people, shorty!" Jiraiya yelled at him and the blonde yelled back at them. Mugen just watched them argue while enjoying his meal. _"He must be happy to teach his godson."_ Mugen thought. After that, they went off to train and Mugen asked every Jounin he saw about Anko's whereabouts. One of them said they saw her headed to the Forest of Death awhile ago and Mugen wasted no time to go there.

Mugen stood at the entrance of the deadly forest, looking at it. "Of all the places you have to go…" He sighed and jumped over the fence. He did some hand signs and summoned four Shadow Clones. "Scatter around and let me know if you found her." He ordered and they obeyed. Just a few seconds after his clones went in every direction, Mugen almost got eaten by a giant snake. He managed to avoid being asleep in its belly and dropkicked on it's nose. "No! Bad boy!" He said and continue to jump from tree to tree. Suddenly, a rush of memory went to him and showed him the location of the kunoichi.

He quickly went over to her and stood in front of her. Anko was still burying her face into her knees and she slowly looked up what was standing in front of her. "M-Mugen…?" She said, sleepily. Mugen was surprised that she could sleep in such a place. "Y-you were asleep? It's dangerous here, you know?" He said and did a hand sign, dispelling the other clones. He sat down, hanging his legs off the branch. Anko wiped her eyes and yawned. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"To tell you that you're going to be the proctor of the exam in this place. And…" Mugen trailed off, trying to think what he should say to her. Anko waited and tilted her head, "And what..?". Mugen sighed and got up before he crouched down in front of her, looking her straight in her eyes. Before she could say anything, he hugged her. "I'm sorry…Sorry that I kept pushing you..I know you felt guilty on what happened to me and how much you want to capture him for what he had done. But I kept pushing you instead of trying a nicer approach." He said and Anko tried to hold in her tears. She was about to gently push him, to break the hug. "It's because I cared about you..! I missed that cheery you, mischievous, hyper and always happy go lucky…I will wait for you and if you want, you can ask me for help…Not just me but the others." He said and that made her hugged him, burying her face into his chest.

Anko gently hit him and that made the swordsman chuckled. Mugen sniffed and wiped the tears that were almost pouring out from his eyes. Anko saw that and chuckled, "You're a grown ass man and you cried from that? Where's the tissue for the baby?" She said and they both laughed. "Shut up, you idiot..!" Mugen talked back to her while both rubbing their eyes. _"Welcome back.."_ Mugen thought, smiling at her. "Now, can we please get out of here? Please?" Mugen asked as he noticed a lot of eyes around them, watching them.

Later that evening, as Mugen and Anko were walking down the street, they bumped into their friends. Kurenai greeted them and was very happy to see them both together. She grabbed Anko's hand, "Come on, we're going to hang out at the bar." She said and Anko replied with a nod while blushed a little and gave them a smile. They happy to see her smile back on her face and laughed when she teased Guy and Mugen.


	7. Chapter 7: Preparations and Guests

Preparation and Guests

For the last few days, Mugen helped his fellow Jounins to prepare for the Chuunin Exams, especially with Anko. They spent most of their times in the Forest of Death, putting traps and releasing more deadly animals free. Anko sighed and dust off her hands after releasing some giant snakes. "And that's that! Come on, we're done here." She said and sighed when Mugen kept looking behind his back. "There's nothing on your back, Mugen. Now, let's go." Said the kunoichi, with a tone of annoyance. "H-how can you be sure?! You haven't checked my back! Come on, please! I freaking beg of you!" He said while turning his back against her. Anko smirked and did what he said. "Oh shit, yeah there is something on your back, Mugen! Crap..!" Said Anko, pretending to be surprised. "Seriously?! Whatever it is, get it off of me!" Mugen yelled and closed his eyes. "Your wish is my command!" Said Anko and she hit him hard on his butt. He jumped up, grabbing his in pain bottom.

"Ow! What the heck, Anko?! Did you get it?! It was a spider, wasn't it? I fucking knew it! That's why I hate stepping into a place like this!" He said and started to rub all over his clothes, worrying a spider could be in his sleeves and jacket. Anko laughed so hard that she had to bent over with her arms on her stomach. "You're such a pussy! There was nothing on your back, you baby! I was just messing with you!" She said and continued to laughed at the color drained, shocked male. Mugen was speechless and in his mind was filled with, "How could she?" "Evil…" "Demon…!"

Mugen stomped past her and jumped on one of the branches before making his way to the exit without waiting for his purple haired friend. Anko caught up to him after a few seconds. Her eyes were watery and she has a big smile on her face. "Aww, come on, Mugen. I was just playing around with my good old buddy!" She said and nudge him gently with her elbow. Mugen huffed and turned his head away from her. Anko got close to him, enough for her to whisper at him. "If you hate this place so much, then why did you come find me?" She asked, with a smile on her face. A part of her just want to cheer him up but the other was just curious. "Idiot, you're important to me. I would run into a forest full of poisonous bugs just to make sure you're alright. Or save your ass." He said, still not looking at the woman.

Anko was surprised by his answer but doesn't show it. She smirked and wrapped her arm around his neck. "Well, aren't you a gentleman! Your beautiful damsel would like to thank you for rescuing her ass." She said. Mugen almost lost his footing because Anko put her around his neck and both fell from the trees. Mugen landed on the ground safely with his friend in his arms. "Looks like the damsel owes me more for rescuing her ass for the second time." He said and chuckled. Anko lowered her head to cover her blush. "Hm? What's wrong?" Mugen asked and he got hit on the head, making him let the woman down on her feet. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, you jerk. Haha, come on, Lord Hokage must be waiting for our report." She said and jumped out over the exit. Mugen reached his hand out to her and asked her to wait before he followed behind her.

After went to report to the Third Hokage, Mugen and Anko got separated as they have their own errands to deal with. A friend of Mugen, a Jounin, asked for his help to write on banners for the exams. He met with him at the arena where the final exam was going to be held and greeted him. "Yo! I see you already did a few without me." He said and the man chuckled. "I was saving the best for last. What do you think I should write on this one? It's for welcoming the candidates." The man asked and looked up at the thinking shinobi. "Hmmm, how about 'Welcome to the exams, modafukas!'?" He asked and earned a shocked expression from the man. "Dude, you can't be serious! The Hokage will kill me!" He said and Mugen laughed.

"I know, I was just kidding! Sheesh… Just say welcome and tell them good luck.." Mugen suggested and the man let out a sigh. Saying that they had always written that message and he wanted to make something different this year. "You didn't let me finish. 'Welcome and good luck on the Chuunin Exams! Or you'll gonna be a failure and everybody is gonna laugh at you! And your failure is going to be remembered for generations.' How about that? Quite motivation, don't you think?" Mugen asked with a smile and a thumbs up. The man's color drained as he couldn't believe what his friend had just said. "Don't you care about your village's reputation?!" He yelled and made Mugen laughed more. "Hey, it's your mistake for asking my help. Look, I'll help you put on the banners while you write this last one. Deal?" He said and he walked over to the neat stack of banners. The man sighed and gave him a slow nod. _"He is a skilled ninja…skilled for making my work into hell!"_ The man thought.

"Jeez, man…That is so plain." Said Mugen, looking at the welcome banner with his arms crossed. "I don't want to hear that from you! You can go now, you gotta greet the Sand and Grass ninja, right?" He said and Mugen nodded. "Yup, catch you later." He said and he jumped onto the buildings, making his way to the Village Gates. "Yo, Izumo! Kotetsu!" Mugen greeted at the two Jounin, who were bored at their post but lightened up when they saw their friend. "Hey, Mugen! I was informed that you're going to escort the candidates along with their teachers to rooms. They will arrive soon." Said Izumo. Mugen nodded and tossed two cans of cold soda at the two before he stood against their booth, chatting with them.

After a couple of hours, the candidates from the Hidden Sound and Sand, arrived. "Greetings, my name is Baki. This is my team, Gaara, Kankurou and Temari. I apologize for being late…Tora-San, right?" He said and Mugen nodded. "No worries, just sign on the log over there and I will lead you to your rooms." Mugen explained and the man nodded, walked to the booth and wrote down their names. "My name is Harawa, and here are my team that will participate the exams. Kinuta Dosu, the team leader and they are his teammates, Tsuchi Kin and Abumi Zaku." The Sound Jounin introduced and they bowed to Mugen slightly. Mugen nodded and turned back to Harawa, "Can I talk to you for a moment before you put your name in the log?" Mugen asked an caused curious looks from the Hidden Sound Genin. Harawa raised his arm at them to ease their looks. "Very well." He simply said and followed Mugen away from the group at the gate.

Mugen told him about his encounters with the Sound ninjas along with other ninjas outside of the village. Along with Anko and her teammate's kidnapping. Harawa's expression changed and he puts his hand on his chin. "That's news to me, actually. Although, I think they were just some rogue ninja as they are quite a lot of them. I will report this to the other Jounins when the exams are over. On their behalf, I apologize for the inconvenience they had caused to the Leaf." He said and bowed. Mugen was still suspicious but he has to act polite so that he doesn't cause any problems to the Third. "It's okay, Harawa-San, no need to bow. I'm just glad that I get to clear this misunderstanding. That's all I have to say, thank you for your time." Said Mugen and smiled. Harawa nodded and smiled back, walking back to the group.

Soon after the Sand and the Sound's arrival, the Hidden Grass ninjas arrived then later register their names in the log. While waiting for the Grass, Mugen sensed hostility and from instinct, his hand quickly moved to his sword. Just a few inches from the handle and he looked where the source of the sense of blood thirst. He was surprised when he looked directly at one of the Sand ninjas, the one with red hair and 'love' written on his forehead. _"There's no way such blood thirst could come from a kid…No, there are some who have such hostility. Better keep an eye on him."_ Mugen relaxed and made sure no one noticed him being alert. "Alright, if you're ready follow me!".

"Phew, that was a close one…Jeez, Gaara. I know you're itchin' for battle but at least be subtle!" The hooded boy with purple markings said to the red head. He, along with his team and teacher were in their room. "Maybe I should start with you..!" The red head said, giving the boy a death glare. The boy froze and cold sweats started to form on his face. "Calm down, both of you! Gaara, Konkurou is right. You were lucky that the Tiger of the Leaf didn't noticed your hostility. Otherwise, the whole plan is ruined." Said Baki, resting his back against the wall by the window. The boy growled before he turned and walked into another room to be alone. "You two rest because tomorrow we got some training to do." Baki ordered and his students obeyed.

Mugen was on his way to the Hokage Mansion, report about his suspicions towards the Sand ninjas. Then, the man noticed a certain short blonde boy and greeted him. "Hey, Naruto! How's training with Master Jiraiya?" He asked after the boy greeted him back. Naruto groaned, "He kept peeping on girls playing in the river while I was trying to do a Summoning! I just can't believe him! And Kakashi-Sensei has been busy that jerk, Sasuke!" He said and Mugen chuckled. "I know, I know. Just be patient, the training is important to him too. He just doesn't show it and…get distracted easily." Mugen said while turning his head, sweat dropped as he remembered when Jiraiya used him to do his errands while he does his 'research' and sometimes he was forced to do his 'research'. "You too, huh?" Naruto asked and watched the man sighed.

"Wait! You summoned your tiger in my class awhile ago, right? Think you can teach me? Please?!" Naruto asked with such hopes in his eyes. "I could but you're under Master Jiraiya's training right now so, I think you should just stick with him." Said Mugen and got a loud groan from the boy. Mugen patted his shoulder, "When the time comes, I'm sure you can use the Summoning Jutsu. Just practice and never give up like you always do." He said and smiled at him. Naruto tilted his head and his arms crossed. "How do you know I always never give up, Sensei?" He asked. Mugen jumped and his mind was rushed with answers that he could come up with but couldn't decide. "I-Iruka t-told me! Yeah! Iruka told me about you, you little rascal." He said and ruffled his already messy hair. Naruto kept looking at him suspiciously, didn't take the bait. _"What the heck?! Do you have woman's intuition or something?!"_ Mugen thought. "I..uh…Gotta go!" Mugen threw a smoke bomb in between him and Naruto before he hid in the alley, watching the boy looking left and right while calling out his name. The man let out a sigh of relief and the boy was out of his sight. "He is so energetic…kids…" He said and jumped when Anko was standing behind him, grinning.

"Whatcha doing there? Hiding from a girl or a guy dressed up as a girl?" Anko teased and watched her friend stood up from falling on the ground. "More like a boy with woman's intuition…What are you doing back here? Stalking?" He asked and the woman just shook her head, not feeling offended by the man's remark. "Just saw you and that brat. I knew that I just have to scare ya when I you threw that smoke bomb. I mean you did the same thing when a girl from the other class back at the Academy, about confessed to you." She said and Mugen blushed of embarrassment as he remembered how shy he was when he was young and some girls thought it was cute, which made him shy even more when they approached him.

Mugen dusts off his pants and had his arms crossed. "And how did you know about that? Nevermind, I gotta go meet Lord Hokage." He said and walked past her. Anko walked up to him until they walk side by side. "About what? Something up with our new guests?" Anko asked, changed to her serious attitude. "Kind of but I hope it was just nothing and my imagination." He explained. The Hokage was reviewing a few reports from other team's mission until he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." He said. He knocked the ash out of his pipe and saw Mugen along with Anko walked inside his office. "What is it Mugen? Anko?" He asked. Mugen explained what happened to the Hokage but it didn't surprised him at all. "The boy…His name is Gaara, son of the third Kazekage. There are rumors that he may forced the One Tail into his son, making him a Jinchuuriki." Sarutobi explained and let out a puff of smoke.

Both Jounin was surprised about the information that they are hearing. "Isn't that against the rules or something, Old Man?" Anko asked and Mugen nodded, agreeing with her question. "No, it's not as long as the Jinchuuriki can control his Tailed Beast." The Hokage explained and gave a look at Mugen. The man understood what he meant, Naruto is also participate in the exams. "Don't worry, the Anbu has already known about this information. They will step in whenever the Jinchuuriki lost his control. I suggest you be on your guard as well, Mugen. Genma also know about this, since he will be the proctor of the final exam." Said the Third Hokage and both Jounin nodded their heads. "Anything else? You are dismissed." He said and the two left the office.

The two walked down on the stairs with the Sand's Jinchuuriki in their minds. "This year's exam has become more interesting, huh?" Said Anko. Mugen sighed, "Tell me about it. Let's just hope nothing happens…". On the next day, Mugen stood on a roof top with a few Anbu members as they stared at the corpse in front of them A friend to one of the Anbu and also, Mugen. The man clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. _"Tsk…damn it..!"_


	8. Chapter 8: Let the Exams Begin!

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! First of all, thank you for those who reviewed and red my story. Well, not my story since I don not own Naruto. Disclaimer! I'm always afraid checking the reviews because I don't know what you guys are going to say and please remember that I haven't finished watching Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. My memory with Naruto is a little bit rusty and I do remember about certain things. I also wanted to mix canon and non canon plots into this fic. Thanks again and enjoy! (Sorry if Ibiki seemed a bit out of character...I tried..)**

Let the Exams Begin!

After what happened that morning, the Third Hokage told all Jounin and Chuunin ninjas to stay alert of their surroundings as well as watching over the villagers. Mugen knew what was in everyone's minds, they are accusing the other village ninjas were the ones behind the murder and their mind is stained with hatred. But they were frustrated as they couldn't do anything until they knew exactly who commit such horrible event and gather evidence or they'll start a war with other villages. "Remember, don't do something that you will regret and that will get the village in trouble. Now, dismiss!" The Third Hokage ordered and watched his ninjas disappeared in the room except Mugen.

"Especially you, Mugen. I hope you can control your anger." Said Sarutobi and smoked on his pipe. "I was this morning…but…I'm sure Hayate would want us to be clear minded and not to cause trouble to the village because of him." He said and the Hokage gave an agreeing nod. Mugen left the office and decided to train by himself to get over Hayate's death. After a few hours of training, the man rested his back against a tree, panting and covered in sweat. His body slid down against the tree trunk until he sat down on the soft grass. He looked at the training field and watched images of him, Hayate and Yugao. The three were sharpening their swordsmanship and tested out their skills, as well as their techniques towards each other. Most of the training was just Hayate and his girlfriend, making her frustrated as he always won in their personal spar.

"Agh! Damn it! You're just out of my league, Hayate…" Said Yugao, bent over as she catch her breath. Hayate gave a sympathy smile and sheathed his sword. "Don't say that, Yugao. You can pass me and besides, you are getting better." He said, comforting her and put his hands on her shoulders. Yugao pouted out her cheek and turned her head away from her lover. "You're just saying that to cheer me up, aren't you?!" She said and crossed her arms. His hands were on her forearm while his eyes didn't left from the most important person before him. "You know I wouldn't do that, right? You really are getting good, Yugao. You just need more practice and training." He said, still smiling at her. Yugao blushed as she was lost for a moment into his gaze and their moment was ruined when they heard a twig snapped, making them turn their attention to the cause.

"Mugen, what are you doing?" Yugao asked, a little bit angry that he ruined the mood but also felt relieved as she was a bit nervous. "Leaving you two lovebirds. What else? I'm sure as hell don't want to be the third wheel." Said Mugen and continued walking away. Both Hayate and Yugao blushed, flustered when their eyes met. "Damn, I could feel the love tonight~!" Mugen said loudly at the distance. Yugao made her vein visible on her head and she gripped tightly on her sword. "Mugen…YOU IDIOT!" She yelled and chased after him while swinging her sword. "W-whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey! Are you crazy?! AHHHH! You almost cut my head off!" Mugen yelled back while running away from the enraged woman. "Good! Now be a good boy and ACCEPT YOUR DEATH!" The two ran around in the training field while Hayate chuckled at the funny scene before him.

Mugen smiled at first but frowned as the images started to fade away, leaving just him in the training field. He shook his head and punched his left palm. _"Idiot! He will always be alive as long as you remember him! Gotta stay focus for the Exams…for everyone's sake!"_ Mugen thought, making himself resolved and fired up.

As a couple of days has passed, the first Exam has started and it was a written exam. Mugen hid his presence and watch the Gennin in the classroom that was under Ibiki's supervision. Mugen remembered his experience of the first exam. Despite not knowing some of the questions and know the consequences of not answering them, he passed. Apparently, the exam was not just about the methods you used but also to come up your own answer, your goal.

Hours went by and the only one left in the classroom was Naruto. Ibiki was standing in front of him, looking down on the boy. "Time's up. What's this? Not even one answer…ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME, BOY?!" Ibiki yelled at the young blonde. His yell made the Tiger tensed up. "That's the leader of the Interrogation Unit for you…" Said Mugen, with beads of sweat rolled down on the side of his face. "You're wasting my time, kid. Go home, you failed." He said and walked away from Naruto. "Alright, listen up…I don't care about this stupid written exam! This test won't change me about my goal or my ninja way! I'm going to be the Hokage, one way or the other! Believe it, sensei!" Naruto said with words that was filled with confidence and his feelings. Ibiki grinned but didn't want to show it. "Hmph, you got guts, kid. Very well, show me what you can do! Fulfill your dreams! Reach your goal no matter how impossible it is!" He said, turned back to Naruto. The blonde was surprised at first and he gave the man his usual grin, "You have my word, Ibiki-Sensei!" He said and Ibiki finally said that he has passed the exam, congratulating the boy.

"That was some guts, huh?" Mugen asked as he climbed into the classroom through the window. "You bet your ass it was. It has been a long time since I saw such passion and courage. By the way, saw anything suspicious during the exam?" Ibiki said while he walked to the stand in front of the classroom, putting Naruto's test sheet along with the others. "Nothing. Not yet at least but I will go report to the Old Man. Take care of yourself, Ibiki." Said Mugen and he rest his back against the opened window frame, made himself fall from the window. "Yeah, yeah… This proctor thing is not my thing at all…I hope they don't pick me again for next year." Ibiki said to himself and sighed. He chuckled when he remembered Naruto's words and left the classroom.

While Mugen was making his way meeting up with a group of ANBU, one of the Gennin from the exam caught his eye. A young man with spectacles and he was a Leaf ninja. _"Something about that guy seems familiar to me…I never see him before, better let the ANBU know to keep an eye on him."_ He thought and landed on one of the buildings in front of where the Genin from the Hidden Rain stayed in. "Anything?" Mugen asked and an ANBU emerged himself from the shadows, walking up to the man. "It's quiet, Senpai. And the others told me the same answer. Sand, Grass and Sound haven't done anything that would threaten the village and the villagers." The Anbu reported and several more walked up to him.

"Well, I guess that's good but don't let your guard down. By the way, tell the others to watch over a guy for me. Four eyes, young male and a Leaf ninja." Said Mugen, with his eyes locked onto the inn in front of him. "What makes you suspicious about him, Senpai?" The other Anbu asked while the others flipped over a file that contained every candidates, including their teachers, pictures and information. They stopped when they found the Genin with Mugen's description. "It's four eyes." "Yup, four eyes." "Eyes of four." "It that four eyes!" They said and a bead of sweat just rolled down on Mugen's face. "What's his back story?" Mugen asked, after he turned around and rested his back against the railing.

"His name is Kabuto Yakushi. Nineteen years-old, quite average in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. Skilled in healing. The file says he, along with his teammates, are orphans from the orphanage at the outskirts of the village. That's all of the information, Senpai." One of the male Anbu said and gave the folder to Mugen. Mugen red through the file and Kabutos teammates' profiles. "Alright, I'm gonna go and let Kakashi know-" Mugen was interrupted when one of the Anbu whispered to his ear. "Senpai…that rhymed." He said and got a smack at the back of the head. Mugen said good luck to them before he jumped the other buildings and jumped down into the busy street.

"And that's that. Can you help with that? You don't have to do much, just interfere when he starts something." Mugen said as he stopped in front of an alley. "Alright, but on one condition." A voice replied to the man in the shadows from the alley. "What?" Mugen asked and silence was in between them. "Can you take over with Sasuke's training before the final Exam? I will train him in the first two days but I got an errand to do. So, what do you say?" Kakashi asked after he walked out of the alley and rubbed the back of his head. Mugen gave it a thought before he said, "Alright, just tell me what kind of training you wanted me to teach him later. Thanks!" He said and ran off while Kakashi waved at him.

Mugen was about to head towards the Hokage mansion before someone called him out, it was none other than, Anko Mitarashi. "Hey, what's up?" Mugen asked after he stopped running. Anko walked up to him, "Just wanted to remind you to help me getting the Forest of Death ready on the day after tomorrow." She said and Mugen gave it a nod. "I thought we're already prepared enough?" He asked and the woman chuckled. "Alright, I lied. When they arrived and gathered at the entrance of the forest, can you watch over them for a bit? Just do a roll call and see if everyone's there. You can do that right?" Said Anko, smiling and put her hands together, begging him. Mugen groaned and sighed, "Fine…but you owe me, you know? Can I ask why you can't do it?" He said and asked. "Hehe, well the old lady at the dango shop is going to make her secret recipe sauce. And I'm worried that it would get sold out by the time we finished the second exam." She said, acting innocent so that Mugen won't yell at her but he did anyway.

"Now, now, no need to have your balls in a twist. Come on, please~?" Said Anko, as she got close to him with her hands grasped into one another and looking up at her. Mugen looked at her and sighed, "Fine, fine…I'll do it." Said Mugen, annoyed and looking away from her. Anko yelled 'yes' and put her arm around his neck, cheering him up before taking him to a bar. Meanwhile, in the Hokage Mansion. The Third Hokage was smoking on his pipe as usual while taping his desk. "Hmmm, where the hell is that boy?" He asked and breathed out a puff of smoke.


	9. Chapter 9: The Forgettable Night

**Authors Note: Hey, everyone!^^/ Now, I want to set this straight. I hope this chapter will not make you cringe. If you don't like Mugen to be with a character in the story, maybe I'll make another OC for him. I don't know, maybe I will maybe I won't ^^" Well, that's it. I hope you guys find this funny because I intended to make it funny. Enjoy!**

The Forgettable Night

Mugen stirred and turned in his sleep as the sunlight shined on him through the gap in between the curtains. As he was about to turn, he couldn't move his body and at that point the man was awake. He hasn't opened his eyes yet and his hand explored what was on top of him. _"Hmm, I never thought my pillow is this soft before…Come on, Mugen, get your ass up it's morning..Hmm? Why the hell is my pillow has two bumps at the back and the front?"_ Mugen thought and his hand squeezed one of the bumps, trying to figure out what it was. _"I mean, it feels comfortable especially the bumps that are against my chest. Come on, lazy ass…open your eyes!"_ He slowly opened his hair and immediately saw purple hair in front of him.

There was silent both in the man's mind and reality until he screamed at the top of his lungs in his mind. _"C-c-calm down! Calm the hell down! Okay, what happened?! Went to the bar, we both started drinking…I told Anko I have to go to report to the Old Man…And then she got drunk and…What happened?!"_ He thought and panicking in his head. His expression was surprised and afraid while just staring at the woman's head. He jumped when Anko moved in her sleep and snuggled up to him, hugging him tighter. _"Shiiiiiit~! Now I can't escape! What should I do?! If I just lie here and wait until she woke up, she would be so pissed! And everyone would thought that I'm a perv! Wait…Ha! You idiot, you red the Make Out Series, didn't you?!"_ He thought and relieved when there was hope, shining on him.

Mugen held his best friend before he turned both himself and her around, making him on top. _"Success! W-wow…She looks so different when she's asleep…She looks kind of pretty with her hair down like that…AHHH! What the hell are you thinking, you pervy son of bitch! Focus and get her hands off of you and get the hell out!"_ He slowly grabbed her arm and slowly put it down on the bed. As he about to grab the other one, Anko moved again and giving th eman a full view of her body. Mugen blushed and quickly looked away. _"Alright, I'm out!"_ He thought and made a victory pose. He grabbed his clothes and was about to head to the door but he turned back to Anko's lifeless body on her bed. "I'm sorry, Anko." He said, bowed and dashed out. The woman opened her eye after she heard the door of her apartment closed. She grew a smile on her face and turned to hug her pillow. "You clumsy idiot."

The Third Hokage was reading through reports from missions and from villagers as usual when suddenly Mugen barged into his office, panting and covered in cold sweats. The old Hokage jumped and yelled from surprised before he slammed his hand on his desk. "The hell, Mugen?! Don't scare me like that! I thought I was having a heart attack.." He said and let out a relieved sigh. "You and me both, Old Man…" Said Mugen and sighed while the Hokage looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. Mugen reported the elder about last night, about Kabuto especially. "I never heard nor seen him before. Is he really from here?" Mugen asked while the Hokage red the white haired man's file. "Can't say I have either. Keep a close eye on him and be careful. If he's really an enemy, he must have back up in or outside of the village." Said Sarutobi and earned a nod from the Jounin. "Right, I'll let the Anbu know." He said and left the office.

The whole day was passed with nothing much happened. There were no casualties, killings and anything suspicious. It was seemed a peaceful day for everyone except Mugen as he kept thinking about his one night stand with his best friend. Mugen was sitting in his room, by his desk and looking at the ceiling. "Oh man, I hope I didn't screw up or something…" He said and sighed before he reached out one of the Make Out Series. "As much I'm grateful your technique of slipping out a one night stand, you didn't help me from feeling guilty as hell." Said Mugen, put the book away and rested his back against the chair, looking at the ceiling again.

"Alright, that's it! I'm going to go see her and talk about it!" He stood up and fist the air before he slowly sat down. "Or maybe tomorrow…? No, you don't have time! You have to watch over those brats in the Forest of Death! AHHHH!" He said and grasped his head, scratching it out of frustration. "Fuck it, I'm gonna go meet her and talk to her! I won't run away my responsibility!" Mugen grabbed his Jounin vest and sweater, leaving his apartment.

Anko was on her way back to her apartment after buying some dangos and groceries. Mugen ran through the busy street and saw his purple haired friend, ran up to her. "H-hey, Anko!" He called out and greeted her with a wave. "Hmm? Oh, hey. What's up?" She greeted and asked with her mouth full of dangos. "I..uhh…I have something that I really want to talk to you about so, can we talk at your place?" Said Mugen, still in a mess of being worried and panic. Anko quirked her eyebrow, wondering what he wants to talk about. Then, it hit her. On the inside the woman was smiling sadistically and decided to play along to listen his panicking rambling as she loved to see the man getting frustrated or flustered. "Alright, sure. I was heading back to begin with." She said and walked ahead while Mugen followed her.

Mugen sat at the dining table and avoid looking at the direction of Anko's bedroom while the owner of the apartment was making themselves some green tea. "Thanks.." Mugen said and grabbed his cup of tea. Anko sat down and at another dango, letting out a sigh of satisfaction from both the taste of the sweet and tea, also from the tease she was about to give him. "So, what is it that you wanna talk about? Is it about tomorrow's exam?" Anko asked and watched him as he kept looking down.

"I…uhhh…Do you remember when we went to the bar last night? Do you remember what happened after that?" Mugen asked, still not looking at her. Anko looked up and put her finger on her chin, pretending to try to remember. "I think so? It's kind of a blur, really. When I woke up, I figured you took me home while I was passed out. Or did something else happened?" She said and asked him. Mugen swallowed his saliva and took a deep breath before explaining about earlier in the morning. Anko listened to him and pretended to be surprised, and also embarrassed. Anko got up and turned against him, "So…you see me naked? That's all what you did, right?" She asked, in a serious tone while actually she was trying to hold in her laughter.

Mugen also stood up, getting worried even more. "W-well, yeah but when I woke up…I don't remember before that though.." He said. He felt scared inside but he had to tell the truth and if he knocked her up, he has to take responsibility. He breathed out and walked up to her, turning her around and put his hands on her arms. "I'm sorry if I did anything and I hope I didn't ruin our friendship or making this whole situation awkward." Said Mugen, looking down at her as she hung her head.

"Anko?" He asked and shook her a little as she didn't answer him nor looking at him. How could she when the woman felt guilty for trying to tease him when he really felt bad for what happened and accept it like a man. _"Shit, what should I do? I can't just laugh at him and said 'Ha! At your face!'. Ugh, I guess this is what I get for always doing this to him…"_ Anko thought and she looked up at him but her eyes avoided his. "I-it's okay, Mugen..At least you were being honest about it and prepared to take responsibility but lucky for you, you didn't knock me up or anything so, I guess we're alright." Said Anko and gave her usual grin at him. Mugen let a huge sigh of relief and hung his head in between him and Anko. "Thanks, Anko…I'm glad we can still be friends. I think I should go now, gotta wake up early for tomorrow." He said and finished his tea before opened Anko's apartment. "Good luck for buying me time for those brats! I know you always awkward around kids." Said Anko, waving at him while he froze at the door frame. "Y-yeah…thanks…" He said and closed the door behind him.

Anko chuckled and took another dango, blushing and smiling by herself.


	10. Chapter 10: The Forest of Death

**Author's Note: Yo! First of all, I hope you all are enjoying the story so far and hopefully not cringing^^"/ I was glad that I didn't get any reviews or PMs for the last chapter like 'Oh, here we go, another OC with some hot character' or something like that but nope, you guys were okay with it^^/ (I hope) Anyway, enough of me rambling. Enjoy!**

The Forest of Death

Mugen had already arrived at the entrance to the forest early in the morning, leaning against the gates while waiting the candidates to arrive. While waiting, he played around with the 'Earth' and 'Heaven' scrolls. Juggling them, stack them up and made a little tower out of them. He was unexpectedly having a lot of fun with it that he didn't notice a couple of teams had already arrived, watching him from behind.

One of the Genin cleared her throat, got the Joinin's attention by just turning his head and looking at them. There was just silence in between them until Mugen spoke, "Don't judge a twenty-seven year-old man can or cannot do." He said blankly and they all had sweat drops from their faces. "Y-yes, Sensei…" Mugen stood up and put the scrolls back into his pouch before clearing his throat. " Alright, you're Team Shikamaru and Team Neji, right?" Mugen asked while looking at the clipboard that he pulled out of nowhere. "Yes, Sensei-" "When are we going to start, Sensei?! I've trained so hard and passionately with Guy-Sensei for this! I cannot contained my youth!" One of the candidates with somewhat a bowl haircut said loudly, which reminded Mugen of someone he knew. The boy had the same appearances as one of his friends and then it dawned to him.

Mugen walked up to the boy and put his hands on his shoulders, "You…Are you secretly Guy's son or something? Because you two look so similar and sometimes annoyingly, out of place, hyped?" He asked and the rest of the candidates fell to the ground by his statement. "H-he's actually just Guy-Sensei's student, Sensei…He really admires him and yes, they are both annoying as hell…" The girl with two buns on her head explained while their leader just stood there, unfazed. "Uh, I see. Well, since you all here and nobody is here yet. Let's introduce ourselves shall we?" Said Mugen and he leaned against the gates to the forest.

Team Shikamaru stepped forward, "My name's Chouji Akmichi, nice to meet ya, Sensei!" The boy said and ate another handful of chips. Mugen looked at him and nodded, "So, you're Chouza-San's son, huh? You wouldn't happened to sometimes say, 'I take a potato chip…AND EAT IT!' when you ate a potato chip whenever you remember that scene, don't you?" Mugen asked and the boy had a surprised expression on his face, with his mouth hung open. "No way…Sensei, you too?" He asked and Mugen smirked. Choji smiled and gave a chip to him. Shikamaru and Ino was shocked because Chouji never shared his food with anyone so easily. "I'm Ino Yamanaka-" The blonde girl said but Mugen interrupted her, "Your family owns a flower shop, right? Nice flowers." He said and smiled. Ino smiled back and nodded. "Thanks! Stop by and buy some if you want, Sensei. Or maybe for a certain someone." She said and nudges him. Mugen laughed and waved his hand, "Sorry, I don't know how to take care of them and I don't have someone special in mind yet. Thanks though." He said and she nodded, stood next to Chouji. Lastly, was a boy with a bored expression on his face walked up to Mugen. "This is such a drag but I'm Shikamaru. Shikamaru Nara." He said lazily and made the man chuckle.

"You pretty much reminded me when I was your age but I heard your pretty smart just like your dad, Shikaku-San. Do your best at the exams, alright?" Said Mugen and offered a fist bump, which Shikamaru bumps his fist with a smirk on his face. "I'll try." The boy with the green jumpsuit stepped up to Mugen and saluted him. "My name is Rock Lee! Despite that I cannot learn Ninjutsu, I will become a great ninja just by Taijutsu alone!" He said and Mugen chuckled while the boy's teammate sighed as they thought it was impossible. "You got spirit. Just do what you love to do or what you're good at, and you will be a great ninja." Said Mugen, he smiled when Lee had sparkles in his eyes and gave a quick bow. "In that case! I will go ahead a train before the exam starts!" He said and started doing push ups. Mugen tried to stop him but he was already too focused in his training.

The girl with the two hair buns and wearing some kind of Chinese clothes, stepped up. She pulled out two scrolls and got into a stance, "My name is TenTen and my specialty is ninja tools! I just love em and to me, shinobi would be nothing without their proper tools and weapons." She said and unrolled the scrolls making a puff of smoke which then revealed different kinds of weapons hung out from the papers. "Interesting kind of Jutsu. As a fellow shinobi who also mostly uses tools, I know what you mean. Good luck!" He said and she bowed before watching Lee who was still doing his pushups. "I'm Neji Hyuuga from the Hyuuga Clan. To me, if you don't have talent then you shouldn't work hard and try to be the best. It's destiny that you don't have any talent or such skills." He said while closing his eyes and opened them, activating his Byakuugan. "Oh? Haha, you'll understand someday." Mugen simply said and gave him a smile. Neji was confused and asked him what he meant. "Don't worry about it. Just do your best and good luck!" He said and the young Hyuuga walked away, joining his team. Mugen sighed and put his hands behind his head, "Now, we play the waiting game... Make sure that all of you are prepared, alright?" He told them and answered.

Mugen greeted a couple more groups and they introduced themselves. It was the Team Kiba, Hidden Rain Team and Hidden Sound Team. Hidden Rain were the only ones who didn't want to introduce themselves to him but they just greeted him. Later on, Team Naruto, Team Kabuto and Hidden Grass Team. The Genin from the Grass made Mugen nervous as the woman in their team always moving around her long tongue. The man felt a weird vibe from them but he didn't want to judge them based on how creepy they are.

Mugen waited for Anko to arrive and decided to start without her. "Alright, listen up! I'm gonna explain about the second exam. Each team has these two scrolls and-AGHH!" Mugen was interrupted when someone landed on him. "And when you have enough scrolls, you can head to the building which is located at the end of the forest." Said Anko, as the dust cleared and revealed who landed on the Jounin. Anko just smiled while eating her favorite sweets, dango. "Yeah, what she said…I thought you'll come after the exam started." Mugen said while he got up and dust off of his clothes. "Hell no! And get nagged by the Old Man? I only said to take my place for a bit, not completely." She said, without looking at him and kept eating. Mugen sighed and started tossing two scrolls to each team. _"I don't know if they like each other or what…"_ Some of the Genin thought as they watched the two adults.

Anko proceeded to tell them that they will not hold responsibility if they died in the forest, which made some of them scared but put on a brave face. Mugen watched her and smiled as he understood that was her way of telling them to watch their step and keep their guard up. He was surprised when she walked back to him. "Hey, hold this would ya?" She said and let him hold her bag of dangos. _"How many did you buy?!"_ Mugen thought and surprised when he took a peek inside. "Hey, don't you dare take one!" Anko yelled out to him and dropped her kunai on the ground. As she was about to grab it, the weird woman from the Hidden Grass Team picked it up with her tongue and gave it to her. "Why, thank you, Grass Ninja." She said with a smile while the woman responded by just tilting her hat.

"Alright, maggots! The Exam has begun!" Anko yelled and it was Mugen's cue to opened the gates. They didn't waste no time and jumped into the dangerous terrain. Mugen tossed the bag of dangos back to Anko, who yelled at him for doing so, and waited before they could enter the forest to watch over them. Just a minute went by a few screams was heard from the forest. "Heh, no surprise there. Come on, let's pick up the bodies." Said Anko and she jumped onto one of the trees in the forest. "By 'picking the bodies', you mean just me, right?" Mugen asked as he followed her from behind. "If you would be a dear, yes!" She said with that bright and somewhat innocent smile of hers. The man sighed and made three clones of himself, spreading them out. "I'll go on ahead and watch over the candidates with the Anbu. If you encountered someone suspicious, just run." Said Mugen, earned a scoff from her which he returned with a serious look. Anko chuckled, "Alright, alright…Sheesh, calm down." She said and Mugen stopped her by grabbing her arm. "I almost lost you once, I don't want to lost you forever." He said, surprising the kunoichi and made her look away from him. "Thanks but, I can take care of myself!" She said and when Mugen was about to say something, she cut him off. "Hey, I won't kick the bucket so easily. Not as long as your sorry ass is still alive!" She said and jumped away from him. Mugen chuckled and smirked before jumping away from her as well.


	11. Chapter 11: Hunt Or Be Hunted

Hunt Or Be Hunted

Mugen jumped from tree branch to tree branch, over the bodies of fallen Genins. _"Damn, this year is pretty rough for them. Well, don't sweat it. You can try next year. Yes, the whole death thing was a lie. Just like that one cake. Well, it's partially a lie. Some of the animals and insects living here are dangerous and not to mention deadly. Imagine all the suing the villagers would do to the Old Man…that would be kinda funny and sad."_ He thought and stopped when he noticed Naruto's Team fighting the ninjas from the Hidden Rain. "This is a tough one…Good luck, all three of you." He said and continue jumping.

While he was looking for Kabuto and his team, he stumbled something strange on the floor of the dangerous forest. "What the hell?" He jumped down and inspected the two lifeless bodies on the ground. He turned them to see their faces and it shook him as they have no faces. _"Whose work is this? Gotta let the Anbu and Anko know about this."_ He thought and made a bird sound that was taught to him when he was an Anbu, it's a call for other Anbus. Not too long after that, three Anbu jumped down behind him. "What's up, Senpai?" One of them asked as they walked up to him. "Well, take a look at this." He said and stood up. They were surprised to see something that horrific.

"Listen, take this bodies to the building and let Anko know about this. The intruder could be disguising him or herself as a candidate in the exam." Mugen ordered and they nodded in response. The Anbu picked up the bodies and jumped on one of the tree branches. "What are you doing to do, Senpai?" A female Anbu asked. Mugen was about to say something but stopped. _"My clones..!"_ He thought and surprised. His clones were dispelled by someone and they didn't see who attacked them. "Damn, someone attacked my clones and they didn't get the chance to see them. Not even their clothes." Said Mugen and he put his hand on his chin, thinking. "You guys found that four eyes, yet?" He asked and she shook her head. Then, an Anbu dropped down in between Mugen and the female Anbu.

"Senpai, I found Kabuto. He is now with Team Sasuke, assisting them fighting against the Genin from the Hidden Rain." The Anbu reported. Mugen nodded and clicked his tongue, couldn't believe he had just missed him. "Thanks, Mito. Anything else?" He asked and the Anbu nodded. "Yeah, what's weird is his team was not with him. Probably didn't want to help the other team and instead trying to get scrolls from other teams." He said and Mugen nodded again. Mugen thanked for reporting and keep watching. He ended with swing his hand horizontally and the Anbu disappeared before him.

Anko was sitting on a bench in the building, waiting and eating her dangos until two Anbu's dropped by at the entrance. "Oh hey, you guys! What's up?" She said and walked up to them. They told her that Mugen found the bodies and showed her their state. Her eyes widened and chill was running down her spine. "Damn, of all times…Thanks for showing me this. We'll take it from here." She said and called two men in white, picking up the bodies. Then, a realization came to Anko and she told the men in white to stop. They did so and watched her as she looked at them closely. "They're from the Hidden Grass…There's a woman on their team, where is she?" Anko turned and asked the Anbu.

"We don't know, we already suspected her to be the enemy we're looking for. Mugen-Senpai and the others are looking for the culprit along another suspect." The Anbu reported and Anko looked down, clenching her fists. _"Shit! I let the enemy in under my nose..!"_ She thought and . "Hey, look after the place for me! I'm going to help and look for the sneaky maggot!" She said and walked past the two Anbu. "In that case, we'll come with you." They said and followed her high on the trees, night time was near.

Mugen went back to where he last saw Naruto and his team. Instead, he found three unconscious Hidden Rain Genins. He looked around and noticed a burnt mark on the ground but he shook his head on it and jumped back onto the tree branches while made three clones to send the three Genin to the hospital. "Get all the ones that are disqualified to the Hospital!" He told to his clones and got a nod from them. He looked everywhere and found the teams that are still active, Team Shikamaru and Team Kiba. He didn't approach them and kept searching.

Suddenly, something caught his attention when he felt someone or something was approaching behind him, on his right side. He turned his head and immediately turned his whole body to block a kick from a mysterious cloaked figure. The kick was enough to send him flying and hit into a tree bark. Mugen grunted and looked around as the attacker disappeared. _"Tch, where are they?"_ Mugen thought and held a kunai in his hand. His ear picked up rustling from the higher tree branch and quickly threw at that direction but only to see his weapon got deflected and the enemy jumped out towards him. Mugen also jumped, both punched and slash as soon as they collided. Mugen punched them on the cheek and jumped off of their body to retrieve his falling kunai, throwing it again at the same target.

The enemy noticed the kunai flying straight at them and knocked it away. They landed on a branch and Mugen landed on one as well, both facing towards each other. "No point in asking types like you…But maybe Ibiki can after I take you with me." Said Mugen, pulling out his katana and held it on his right hand, leaving the other one safely in it's scabbard. The enemy pulled out two kunais and covered them with chakra. Mugen did the same as well, covering his blade with chakra. Both jumped from the branches at the same time and clashed.

Naruto was walking towards the building as they already go the scrolls they needed along with Shikamaru's team. The boy was tired after fighting someone weird and protected Sasuke from a giant snake. He kept looking at his teammate, who was being supported by Sakura. Sasuke had gone through a lot as well but Naruto didn't knew anything that had happened while he was unconscious. When he came to, Shikamaru's team was there and defeated the Hidden Rain Genin. He was the only one at the back of the group and he stopped when he heard something. He turned to see where the noise came from but saw nothing but darkness and the sound of wildlife. "Hey, Naruto! Hurry up!" Sakura called out to him at the entrance of the building while Shikamaru and his team had already went inside. "C-coming!" He said while still looking back until he shrugged it off and joined his friends.

Mugen fought the enemy on the tree branches until they reached at the top of the trees. They stopped to recover their breaths after managed to put in some hits on each other but Mugen did more damage than the cloaked enemy and torn his black cloak in pieces. The enemy was about to jump at the Leaf shinobi but stopped when a group of Anbu stood on top of the trees, surrounding them and Mugen. "It's over, give it up." Said Mugen and got into his stance, ready to jump at him and give the finishing blow. The enemy smirked under the cloaked and intentionally fall from the trees. The Anbu quickly followed the falling body but failed to capture it as it suddenly explode and engulfed in flames. Followed by a loud thud from the ground. "Damn it..! Anko?" Mugen saw her stood next to the body, inspecting it while he made his way down. "Is he.." Mugen asked and Anko gave him a nod, made him clicked his tongue. "But look at this, Mugen." Said Anko and showed him the enemy's face. "It's the woman from the Hidden Grass team…" Mugen said and left the body to the Anbu.

"The exam is already over, let's go to the building for now and report to the Hokage later." Said Anko, while had her hand on the curse mark. Mugen nodded and followed her from behind, "Are you hurt?" He asked as he clearly noticed she was somewhat in pain or her mind was disturbed. "It's just…this curse mark started to burn up for some reason..It doesn't hurt much but it's irritating as hell." She said. Mugen knew what she was thinking and he was also thinking the same thing. Could Orochimaru be the intruder they were looking for?


	12. Chapter 12: The Preliminaries

The Preliminaries

When Anko and Mugen arrived at the building, the teams that passed the exam were Team Sasuke, Shikamaru, Gaara, Neji, Kiba and Hidden Sound. Anko congratulated them and asked them to follow her into another room. Mugen walked from the back with his mind was focused on the intruder. He watched the candidates in front of him but made sure they didn't notice him doing so. His eyes stopped at Kabuto's team and noticed he was injured. _"Hmm, what happened to him to get those injuries?"_ He thought and the doors to another room was opened, light penetrated through the gap and reveal a bigger room, an arena. The Third Hokage, the Kazekage and other Jounins were there as well. Anko told them Genins to line up and listen to what the third Hokage has to say.

Anko and Mugen joined their fellow Jounins and stood with them as the Hokage gave his speech. Mugen noticed something was going on in Naruto's team. He noticed Sakura had a worried and terrified look on her face while Sasuke seemed to be in pain. He gave a look to Kakashi and gestured him to come closer to him. The Copy Ninja wondered what was it about but it must be important, so he walked up next to him and leaned a bit towards him. "When the Old Man finishes his speech, have a talk with your team. They seem to be worried about something or hiding something." Mugen whispered and Kakashi looked at his team, gave him a nod. "I'm sure it's nothing but I'll ask. Thanks, Mugen." Said Kakashi and patted his back, going back to where he stood.

As it seem to be an eternity to Mugen and the candidates, the Third's speech was finally over and the Preliminaries will begin soon. All teams, including their Jounins, Hokage and Kazekage got onto the platform on the wall to spectate the fights between the Genins to determine who will go to the finals. Anko excused herself to the Third and hit Mugen's back, gave him a chuckle and left the arena. The man rubbed his painful back while glaring at the kunoichi. "What the hell was that about?" He asked, while Kurenai and Asuma chuckled at him.

Mugen noticed one of his friends become the proctor for the current exam and waved at him. "Hey, Genma! Don't screw up or get a cold feet!" He said and laughed at him. The other Leaf Jounin sighed and had beads of sweat on their cheeks, _"Only you would do something like that…"_ They thought and sighed. The Hokage covered his face with his hat, embarrassed by his ninja's behavior. "Mugen! What the hell are you doing there for?! Get over here!" The Third yell, making everyone jumped by surprised except the Kazakage, Baki and Harawa. Genma chuckled, "Haha, got scolded like a freaking child. How embarrassing." He said and smirked at the embarrassed Tora.

Naruto laughed at Mugen and ended up getting a big smack on the head by his teammates, Sakura. While the other Genin simply didn't care of the situation or just chuckled at the man. "He got you there, Sensei." Said Shikamaru, smirking. "Shut up…" Mugen simply said and got some pats on the back. Also a thumbs up from the one and only, Might Guy. After having a walk of shame to the Third Hokage, the first fight has finally begun. The first ones to fight was Sasuke and a guy from Kabuto's team. It seemed to be one sided at first with the other guy had the advantage until the tables was finally turned and Sasuke got the win. "Hell yeah! Way to go, Sasuke!" Naruto cheered loudly, along with Sakura and Ino. Mugen whistled, "Not bad. I guess that was to be expected from an Uchiha." He said and the Third nodded.

After the fight, Sasuke lost his balance and almost fell but Kakashi caught him. "You've done enough, go and get treated." He said. Sasuke doesn't want to admit it but he gave in and nodded. As he was walking out of the arena with two men in white, Naruto shout out at him. "Don't worry about us! We got this in the bag!" He said, earned a lot of looks from other teams and ended up getting smacked by Sakura, again. Kakashi only chuckled at his student. Sasuke smirked and continued to walk away.

Next up was Shino versus Zaku, a genin from the Hidden Sound. Mugen was a little bit confused and he asked the Hokage. "Ummm, excuse me, Old Man?" He asked and the Hokage turned before gave a nod, a permission for him to ask a question. "Was he in the Exams all this time? I didn't notice him at all…Now, I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting rusty…" Said Mugen and looked at the laughing Hokage. The man yelled at him for laughing and got smacked for yelling. "He has always been like that. He likes to be by himself and not getting involve with other people too much except his friends, like his teammates." Sarutobi explained and Mugen nodded. "I see…did you noticed him?" Mugen asked and he got a nod from him until he started to look away. "But when I sometimes visited the academy…I didn't notice him at all…" He said and sighed, got a pat on the shoulder from the man.

The young Aburame struggled a little but just like the other members of his clan, they managed to pull through by using their insects. Shino's bugs drained managed to got onto Zaku despite being blasted with sound waves and sucked his chakra to the point that he no longer can continue. "The winner is, Shino Aburame!" Genma announced and his teammates cheered for him. The others cheered as well while some were just kept quiet, watching the match went on. " _Not bad but he needs to work on his Taijutsu."_ Mugen thought and clapped for him.

"Kankuro! Misumi! Come on down, you guys are next!" Genma announced and the two Genins jumped down before facing each other. Kankuro had a smirk on his face since before he jumped down from the platform while Misumi watched his movements. Kankuro grabbed the bandage covered object on his back and put it in front of him. "How's it going? I hope you'll my puppet show that I will be showing you." He said and chuckled. Temari scoffed, "Stop being cocky and get serious, you idiot." She said and turned to her little brother, who silently watching the match. _"He's awfully calm this time. Thank God…"_

At first Misumi seemed to get the upper hand as he caught Kankuro by surprised and grabbed him from behind. "Forfeit or I'll break your neck." Misumi whispered and Kankuro chuckled. "Hell no." He simply said and not going back on his word, he broke the boy's neck and watched his lifeless body fell on the floor. Everyone was surprised except for the Jounins and the Kages. Before Genma called Misumi the winner, Kankuro's corpse, turned into a puff of smoke and wooden puppet appeared. Misumi, along with everyone else was surprised yet again. The puppet quickly grabbed onto the Leaf Genin. "Oh, I see you've met Karasu! I think you will really get along with him. He enjoys killing assholes like you." Said Kankuro and started to pull the chakra strings that were connected to the puppet. "No..! Please!" Misumi begged and Karasu constricted him.

Genma stepped in and announced Kankuro as the winner. Misumi survived however, was no longer qualified to fight any longer. Misumi was carried out of the arena and Kankura got back on the platform. _"Using chakra strings and puppets as weapons. Interesting…but something tells me he didn't show us his puppets full potential."_ Mugen thought and shook the thought away. _"Probably the reason he doesn't show us so that he can use it in the finals. Hopefully then the puppet master will show us his tricks."_

"Next up are…Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino!" Genma announced and the two girls looked at each other with intense electricity between them as they let out some fighting words, along with insults. Mostly insults. "Enough, you two. Go down there and show what you have learned." Said Kakashi, splitting them up and Asuma walked up. He patted on their shoulders, "Save it so that you two have the energy to fight each other in the arena, alright?" He said. Sakura and Ino looked at each other before quickly turned away from each other and head down to the arena. Asuma looked at his student while scratching the back of his head while Kakashi sighed, making Mugen chuckled.

As the fight had begun, the two still throwing insults at each other and mostly about who wins will have the right to be Sasuke's girlfriend. "Sheesh, those girls on fire…" Said Mugen, surprised at how intense their love towards the young Uchiha and their rivalry. With only Naruto's cheer in the background, the two clashed. "Heh, look at that teammate of yours. Looking such an idiot, it makes me feel bad that you have an annoying person like that in your team." Ino spouted as she got into the kunoichi's head. Then, something inside her awakened and to Ino's surprised it was Sakura's inner self, looking down at her.

"Going after Sasuke is one thing but insult to insult my teammate like that?! CHA!" Sakura's inner self pounded her huge fist down onto the blonde and literally knocked her out from her mind. Ino was wide awake and in shock, "How is that possible?!" She asked and watched Sakura slowly stood up, clenching his fist tightly. They both gave flurries of punches. Some hit, missed and connected to each others' fists. "It ends now, Ino!" She said and charged towards her with her fist ready to hit its target. "Sakura!" Ino yelled and charged towards her, with her fist ready to hit her as well. Just before the punches connected, a flash of the two when they were kids flashed in their heads. Then, the two girls' bodies pushed back by each others' strength and fell on the floor, unconscious. Genma checked both of them and called it a draw.

"That was pretty intense." Mugen noted and smiled. _"Well, you two did gave it your all. And that's more than enough."_ He thought and watched the two carried away on stretchers. His attention returned to the arena when Genma announced the next candidates.

Another Genin from the Sand stepped into the ring and her opponent was the ninja tool enthusiast, TenTen. "Ready? Fight!" Genma signaled the match has started and TenTen jumped back to create distance between herself and Temari. The Third praised her for doing so but despite of her skills of using ninja tools, she was outmatched by Temari's wind style techniques. TenTen seemed to be down after she lost the fight and didn't look at anyone nor talk to them. She walked back to her team and sat down, resting her back against the wall while burying her face to her knees. Lee was about to cheer her up but Neji stopped him, simply shaking his head. _"It was unfortunate but learn form this battle and sharpen your skills, TenTen. You can take advantage when the enemy make big swings like that or use the wind to counterattack the user."_ Mugen thought and stretched his arms out. He looked at the Jounins from the Sand and Sound, to see if they were acting suspicious of some sort. He had been watching them from time to time in between watching the fights in the arena.

Now, for the second half of the preliminaries.


	13. Chapter 13: The Second Half

The Second Half

Next up were Shikamaru and Kin from the Hidden Sound. Shikamaru started out by staying calm and got into his opponent's head, making her rushed into his trap which was his Shadow Possession Jutsu. The boy smirked and the girl cursed at herself for being so careless. While Shikamaru proceeded to use his Strangulation Jutsu, the girl was very terrified for her life. The boy noticed she kept looking at the Sound Jounin, begging for her life. Shikamaru stopped and ended up constricted her instead, making her no longer able to fight.

While Shikamaru was walking back to the platform, he had his eyes on the Hidden Sound team as he felt weird that they didn't said anything but only had expression of disappointment. "Hey, congratulations, Shikamaru!" Said Naruto and watched his friend walked past him, and his team. "Hey, what's the big deal? That's your teammate down there." Said Shikamaru, stood in front Team Dosu. Dosu scoffed, "What does it matter to you? You won, you should be happy instead of minding other people's business." He said and walked away. Harawa smiled at the boy and followed Dosu while Zaku followed behind them. Mugen watched the whole thing and found it odd as well but assumed that they were just strict. It doesn't mean he will stop watching them.

Asuma patted Shikamaru's shoulder with his usual relaxed smile. "Come on, don't worry about them." He said. Shikamaru gave one last look at them before he sighed and nodded to his sensei. When Naruto's name was announced for the next fight, he was jumped for joy. He finally got the chance to show everyone how strong he has become. Mugen stopped leaning back against the wall when he heard the boy's name and had a smile on his face. The Hokage looked at him at the corner of his eye and chuckled. Naruto's opponent was the young Inuzuka, Kiba. And his dog, Akamaru. "Hey, you can't bring your dog into this!" Naruto yelled at him and pointed at the little white dog. "Hmph, Akamaru and I work as a team and it's not a violation against the rules. Am I right, proctor?" Said Kiba, earned a nod from Genma.

"I guess it doesn't matter since I can still kick your ass." Said Naruto and got into his stance. Kiba smirked and got into his stance as well. "Ready, Akamaru?" He asked and the dog let out a bark. Genma signaled the fight had begun and the dog turned into his master while still being on his back. "Let's do this, Akamaru! Fang Over Fang!" Kiba said and they both charged at the blonde with their fast spinning attack. Naruto was caught with surprised and got a few hits in. Mugen watched and tightened his grip as he watched the boy. "Give up, Naruto. You're weak as hell, how are you going to be a Hokage? A loser become a Hokage? Ha! Don't make me laugh!" Kiba said and kept attacking him. Naruto was pushed and sent flying all over the place but he kept getting himself up.

"I won't give up…it's always has been and still be my ninja way! I'm going to be Hokage no matter what you say!" Naruto said and did a hand sign to mold his chakra. Mugen smiled and chuckled, he felt proud towards him. Kiba clicked his tongue and both him and Akamaru charged towards him, doing the same attack. At the last second Akamaru jumped off of Kiba and snuck up behind Naruto while Kiba engage him form the front. Naruto was surprised and ended up letting out some gas. The arena was quiet both from being surprised and some were, "Are you serious?"expression on their faces. Mugen almost bursted out laughing but he managed to held it in while Hiruzen tilted his head down, covering his face out of embarrassment.

Both Kiba and Akamaru fell to the ground, covering their noses and wriggling around. "Dude, what the heck did you eat?!" Kiba yelled and coughed. Akamaru changed back into a dog and fainted, while Naruto summoned a few clones of himself. "Attack!" They all surrounded Kiba, punched and kicked him into the air. "Na-Ru-To! Uzumaki Barrage!" The real Naruto jumped up and kicked Kiba back down to the stoned floor. Kiba was knocked out and Naruto was announced as the winner of that round. Shikamaru and Chouji cheered for him after almost laughing at him for what he did to Kiba. Hinata was blushing and didn't say anything. Despite of her joy that he crush one, she was worried about her injured teammate. "Don't worry, Hinata. Kiba will be fine, go congratulate Naruto." Said Kurenai. Hinata looked at her and gave a quick nod before she ran towards him. The woman giggled at her student's flustered attitude.

When Naruto was on the platform and got congratulated from his sensei and everyone else, he looked at Mugen, who smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Naruto smiled widely and gave him a thumbs up as well. _"Rest easy, Minato-Sensei…Kushina-San. Your boy is doing more than well. He's going to become the Hokage!"_

Hinata was happy after giving the ointment to Naruto until she heard her and her opponent's names. She froze and looked at the other Hyuuga from Guy's team. Neji just stood there with his arms crossed and looked at the girl, with hatred in his white eyes. Naruto noticed Hinata's nervousness and patted her shoulder, got her attention. "Don't be afraid of him, Hinata. Just give it your all!" He said and smiled at her. That encouraged her and she gave him a nod before she jumped off the platform, facing Neji.

Both Hyuuga's get into their stance and activated their Byakuugan. Genma signaled the match has begun and Neji charged towards Hinata, not giving her time to think of a strategy. So far, Hinata managed to block his attacks but Neji picked up his pace and hit her faster and faster until she was pushed back and fell to the floor. "Get up, Hinata! You can do it!" Naruto cheered loudly and Hinata slowly got onto her feet, get back into her stance. "Hmph, just give up. It's pointless to continue this fight." Said Neji and rushed towards the injured girl, performing the Sixty-Four Palms technique on her. Hinata failed to guard his attacks and was pushed back once more.

"No…I won't back down…I won't give up and I will give it my all!" Hinata said and this time she charged towards Neji. Just as she was about to hit him with her palm, he evade it easily and counterattacked. Hinata was down and unconscious. Genma announced Neji was the winner and Hinata was carried away to the infirmary. "Hmph, pathetic." Neji simply said and turned away from the fallen Hyuuga. Naruto was in rage and he gripped on the iron railing tightly before he jumped down. "What the hell is the matter with you?! She's from the same family as you, isn't she?! What gives you the right to act so high and mighty?!" Naruto said and panted after letting out his frustrations.

"You who do not know anything about our clan should just shut up. It's not your business. It was her destiny that she was weak and lost to me." He said and Naruto grabbed him by his shirt, glaring at him while gritting his teeth. Neji just watched him until they were broke apart by Genma. "That's enough, both of you. Go back to the platform, you're stopping the exam." He said and Neji slapped the blonde's hand off of him. Naruto just watched him and turned to look at Hinata who was already rushed out of the arena. "It's not right…"

On the next round, Rock Lee jumped from the platform as he was excited that it was finally his turn to fight. He didn't show any fear when Gaara stepped down into the arena. Guy cheered at his student, loudly and youthfully. The fight began and Lee stood on the hand sign statue, holding something in his hands. "I will not hold back and give you everything I have!" He said and dropped the objects. It made a loud crushing sound and caused a cloud of dust, it was weights. _"Ankle weights?! That heavy?! As expected from Guy, he never holds back in both training and battle…"_ Mugen thought and shivered when he remembered the days he and Guy trained together. Along with his ridiculous challenges.

Gaara just stood still with his arms crossed but surprised how quickly Lee reached him. Lee kept kicking at Gaara but failed to hit him and instead he hits sand. "Just a little more speed!" Lee said to himself and increased his speed. Gaara was keep being surprised as his eyes couldn't keep up with the green beast and got pushed slightly when his sand protected him at the very last second. Then, something inside him took over and he controlled his sand, finally taking the offensive as he stopped Lee's movements by holding his leg. Lee tried to get his leg out from the sand until he felt very sharp pain and yelled loudly.

Everyone leaned forward to the railing and as Gaara was about to squeeze his leg even tighter, Mugen jumped towards them and pulled out his katana. "Water Style: Tail of the Water Dragon!" He said and swung the sword that was covered in water. As he swung the sword, the water from his sword increased in size, followed Mugen's swing and cuts the sand in between Lee and Gaara. The boy from the Sand was stopped by Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and Guy from doing any further damage. "What are you doing? He's already down and can no longer fight." Said Kakashi Mugen overdid himself and done some damage to the wall along with the ceiling. He sheathed his katana and quickly check on Lee who was still groaning in pain. "Sensei…I think my leg is broken..!" Said Lee in between hissing and groaning. "Save your energy, Lee. We're getting you to the hospital. Hey, where's the stretcher?!" Mugen asked and he pulled out his small blade which was covered in green chakra. He pushed the blade into Lee's leg but not deeply so that he doesn't damage his bones.

"I only ease the pain, that's all. The doctors will take it from here." Said Mugen and earned a nod from the boy. "Guy, go ahead and accompany Lee. I'll watch over your team while you're gone." Said Kakashi, patted his frustrated friend's shoulder. Guy nodded and thanked everyone before following the medics. Genma had already told Gaara to go back on the platform and Baki jumped down, apologize for such tragedy and that he will have a word with Gaara. "That's good but it's not us you should be apologizing, Baki-San." Said Mugen. The man nodded and said he will apologize to Guy and Lee personally.

"Your Jounins are very dependable, Lord Hokage. My apologies for what had just happened." The Kazekage whispered and lowered his head slightly. "It's okay, Lord Kazekage. I'm sure it was just an accident and besides it's a fight so things like this are to be expected." Said Hiruzen, being fair and friendly towards the Kage. "You're too kind. I will repay you when the time comes." Said the Kazekage, bowing his head.

After everyone had calmed down from the accident, the final fight was about to begin. Asuma and Shikamaru wished good luck to Chouji as it was finally his turn. "Good luck, Chouji!" Naruto cheered from the platform and got a thumbs up from the boy. Dosu just watched Chouji and chuckled. "Some friends you got there, fatso. Are you sure you can handle lil ol' me?" He mocked and got Chouji's attention. Shikamaru tried to calm him down and make him not think about what the opponent said to him. "Calm down, Chouji! He's just trying to get into your head!" Shikamaru said and Naruto told the same thing. Dosu scoffed, "That kid acting all badass but actually he's just a weakling." He mocked again and crossed the line. "Hey, calm down with the insults. Are you ready- Hey, Chouji! Begin!" Chouji rushed towards the Sound Genin, using his Meat Tank Jutsu.

Dosu easily evade Chouji's attack and he managed to evade more because Chouji was enraged when he made fun of Shikamaru. Dosu used his Sound technique on Chouji, slammed him into the wall without as much as an effort. Chouji stopped moving and his Jutsu was canceled. Genma went ahead to check on the boy and announced that he cannot continue, making Dosu the winner. The medic unit picked up Chouji and took him to the infirmary. "Poor, Chouji…Don't worry, buddy. We'll kick his ass for ya!" Said Naruto and punched his fist into his palm. Shikamaru watched his friend left the arena and clenched his fist.

Those who won were lined up in the arena as the Hokage wanted to congratulate them, both the winner and the loser. "Now, all of you return to your homes and rest. Rest and train for the next days but do not overwork yourself! I expect top condition from all of you! I'm looking forward to your matches in the finals! Dismissed." Said Hiruzen and the Genin bowed to him before leaving the arena. Some headed home while some headed to either the infirmary or the hospital to check on their injured teammates.

Mugen sighed and rubbed the back of his neck while he was walking out of the Forest of Death. Then, he received a shocking and painful feeling on his back. "Hey, how was the preliminaries?" Anko asked, after spanked his back. Mugen mumbled something while rubbing his back and Anko chuckled at him, apologized to him for the sudden and tough greeting. Mugen sighed, "It was good for the most part but damn, this year's Genin…they pretty tough." He said while he and Anko walked towards the bar. "Awww, did poor Mugen got his ass kicked by a Genin?" Anko teased him and made both him and herself laughed. "Shut up, you idiot." Mugne said and pushed her gently.

"I do agree that this year is different…judging from the enemy's attacks…I think we should be prepared for the finals." Said Anko, put on her serious face. Mugen nodded and looked at the full moon, "Yup…"


	14. Chapter 14: Training And Comfort

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Sorry for the late update^^"/ And sorry again because there might be more late updates as I am busy with family problems and such, that I can't focus on writing. I have one or two backup chapters (Is what I would like to call it) that are ready to be posted. I didn't post them yet because as I said, they are backups. I usually post one chapter while having other five or four chapters ready.**

 **I might post another backup chapter soon and I will let you know when I ran out of them. Thanks for all the follows and favorites! Also the views! I was surprised and happy that they are people reading this. Well, that is enough from me. Enjoy and I hope you guys are doing well. :)**

Training And Comfort

It was morning and Mugen was still asleep, in his apartment this time. He tossed and turned when he heard something by his window. The man groaned and threw his blankets to the side, opened the window widely. "Alright, this better be important because if it's not, I'll outta-" Mugen stopped and looked around until he noticed he accidentally hit Naruto with his window. "Oh, Naruto. What's up?" Mugen asked blankly while Naruto yelled at him for what he did while holding his nose. "Jeez, calm down, will ya? Don't be so noisy early in the morning…" Said Mugen and yawned. "Well, what is it?" Mugen asked and leaned against the window frame.

Naruto was sitting at the table in the dining room inside Mugen's apartment, drinking tea with him. Mugen sighed after drinking the hot green tea. "So, let me rephrase what you just asked." Said Mugen and earned a quick nod from the boy. "You want me to continue your training of chakra control because Ebisu couldn't continue teaching you?" Mugen asked and Naruto nodded again. "And you said he couldn't continue because he lost a lot of blood from your harem jutsu?" Mugen asked again. Naruto laughed when he remember that moment when Ebisu sent flying high in the sky, followed by a stream of blood.

Mugen scratched the back of his head and thought, _"Oh my God, he used a harem Jutsu! Kushina-San's probably trying to kill me from the other side…Should I sleep over at someone's place? Maybe at Guy's?"_ He snapped out of his thoughts when the blonde kept calling his name. "Alright, alright. I'll train you but just keep it down a little, I'm still recovering after drinking last night…" Mugen groaned and held his head as he felt another headache but he was very relieved that he didn't end up sleeping someplace else instead of his apartment. "Does alcohol really do that to you? Then why do you drink in the first place?" Naruto asked. "It's not like I have a choice…Anyway, I'm gonna take a shower. Make yourselves at home…" The man said while stretched his arms out and went to the bathroom.

Naruto took the time to walk around in his apartment. He looked at the pictures on the wall in the hallway and on the table in the living room. He smiled when he recognized some of the senseis when they were kids and he laughed when he saw Kakashi. "Kakashi-Sensei wears that mask since he was a kid, huh? It makes me want to know what's under that so bad..~!" He said and moved on. Then, his eyes widened a little when he saw pictures of the Fourth Hokage and a woman that he assumed his wife with a kid in between them, hugging his katanas tightly. "Oh, that must be Mugen-Sensei! He must be really close to the Fourth." He said and smiled. He looked at the photo a little longer and quickly walked away when he heard the sound of the water in the bathroom had stopped.

Mugen walked through the living room and to his room, noticed Naruto was at the balcony. "Hey, Naruto. Let's go!" Mugen called him out from outside of his front door. Naruto quickly walked back in and followed him. They chatted while they make their way to the area they were going to train.

Naruto was slowly walking on water, they were training at the lake, controlling his chakra. "Don't feel rushed and just let the chakra flow to your feet, like water." Said Mugen, standing on the body of water and watching the little Genin. Mugne told him after he has walked long enough, try running around and jumping on water. Naruto did so and fell into the water. Mugen walked over to him and pulled him up while he coughed out some water that went into his mouth. "Take your time, Naruto. I'm not going anywhere." He said while reading Make Out Series. "Say, Sensei…I looked at the pictured in your apartment while you were taking a shower…And I noticed you as a kid, with the Fourth." Said Naruto, made the man's eyes widened in surprised and he looked at him. "O-Oh, really? What about it?" Mugen asked and try not to reveal too much. "Can you tell me about him? I always thinking what he was like." Naruto asked and looked up at the man. Mugen gave a thought and smiled. "Sure. How about I will tell you what I know about the Fourth if you finish your chakra control training. We can talk about it while having Ichiraku's ramen." Mugen suggested and Naruto grew a wide, bright smile. He gave an excited and quick nod.

Mugen watched and helped pulling Naruto out of the water until he told him to stop helping him up. "Just sit back and relax, Sensei…I'll get this done, believe it!" He said and picking himself up. Mugen chuckled and nodded before he walked back to land and sat down on the ground. _"He flowed his chakra to his hands to pull himself up. He's getting better…"_ Mugen thought and pull out his favorite book. A few hours later, "You idiot…! You shouldn't let her go… Why won't you two express your feelings, especially after that night?!" Mugen talked to himself, letting his frustration out about the characters in the Make Out Series book. His moved for a second to look Naruto was standing in front of him but went back into the book until Mugen jumped back in surprise. "Whoa, what the hell, Naruto?! Don't just suddenly stand there without telling me anything…" Mugen said, clutching his chest as he catch his breath.

"I did call out to you but you were too into that book, Sensei…" Said Naruto, with a judgment look on his face as he watched the man before him being frustrated over two fictional characters in a book. Mugen noticed his look and blankly said, "Don't judge me." The two then headed to Ichiraku's Ramen and decided to eat the delicious ramen at Naruto's apartment. "Well, make yourself at home, I guess." Said Naruto, stretching his arms out while heading towards his room. Mugen just stood by the front door and took in of what he saw in the apartment. _"If your mother was alive, you'll be dead, Naruto…Or your dad will clean this up with his Flying Thunder God Jutsu."_ He thought and put the food on the table.

Naruto came back to the kitchen after he changed his clothes and sat down at the table. Mugen already prepared the table for them and they started eating. "So good! Ichiraku's is the best!" Naruto said while eating his favorite food happily. Mugen chuckled and slurped the noodles into his mouth. "You know, the Fourth and his wife ate at Ichiraku's Ramen too." Said Mugen, finishing his ramen. Naruto stopped and looked up, "Really?! Well, that's not surprising since Ichiraku is the best!" He said with his usual grin. "Haha, true. So, what do you want to know?" Mugen asked and drank a glass of water. Naruto finished his ramen and let out a sigh before he thought of a question. "What were they like and how did you met them?" Naruto asked with his eyes full of hope.

"They were really nice people. They took care of my from time to time when I stumbled around during the war. The Fourth saved me and took me here, the Hidden Leaf Village. That's right, I'm not from here." Said Mugen and smiled when he remembered his encounter with the famous Yellow Flash. He continued the story, with Naruto surprised to know the sensei before him was not originated here. "The village had a difficult time trusting me and that is why the Fourth decided to let me stay at his home with his wife. Even though I'm not their son but considered them to be my parents. Haha, the Fourth's wife was worried about me when she first saw me because I'm in such a mess and hungry. She make the trouble to cook for me and took care of me."

"Wow, was it good? Her cooking?" Naruto asked while kicking his feet under the table, excited about the story already. "Hell yeah! Though she would be very scary sometimes, especially when I was bullied by other kids. Her hair literally rose up like a demon and scare the kids away." He said and they both laughed. "After awhile, I have become a ninja of the Leaf. We were in a war at that time so, I didn't belong to any team. I would follow the Fourth training his team or just train by myself and sometimes help his wife by doing chores in the house because she was pregnant." Mugen stopped to drank his water while Naruto waited impatiently. Mugen told him how happy they were when they were going to get a child, how strong and skillful the Fourth was and many more until the boy fell asleep on the table.

Mugen got up and carried him to his room, putting him on his bed. He chuckled as he looked around in his room. "Kushina-San is going to flip is she saw this." He said, talking about the mess in the room. The man ruffled the boy's messy hair and started to clean his apartment. He left a note on Naruto's dining table before he left. He stopped and gave another look at the apartment before he continue walking away. The man looked at the moon and thought of going to the cemetery as it was on the way to his apartment. Mugen stood in front of two graves and crouched down to put the flowers that he just bought, in front of the graves. He puts his hands together and prayed for them.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Leaf Village. "Make sure the preparations are done before the final exam. So far, the Old Man and his dear ninjas haven't found out who the enemy is." A man said in the shadows, talking to his subordinate at the corner. "I will see to it so, don't worry. Baki and his students are ready to attack anytime." The man at the corner said and adjusted his glasses. The man in the shadows let out a laugh, an evil but not loud one. "Very good. It's hilarious how stupid those Sand ninjas are. Get going before the Anbu spots us." The man in the shadows ordered and the other gave him a nod before he disappeared. As the man walked out of the shadows, the moonlight revealed who he is but a shadow from his hat covered his face. 'Sand' was written on the hat and the man laughed while he walked back to his room.

Anko clicked her tongue as she felt slight pain from her curse mark, irritating her. "What the hell?! Could this mean something?" She said to herself while gently rubbing the mark and stopped when an image of Orochimaru flashed in her head. She grips the curse mark out of anger and tried to sleep on it but the pain won't stop throbbing. "Maybe a walk will soothe it.." She grabbed her coat and jumped out through the window of her room. She walked past Mugen's apartment and decided to jumped at his balcony. "Hey, anybody home~?" She poked her head inside and looked around in the dark living room. "Maybe he's out…And I thought we could hang out tonight." She said and turned away but stopped when her mischievous mind started working. "Maybe a surprise wouldn't hurt and maybe he'll be happy to see me." She said and hid inside the living room.

Mugen turned on the lights and closed the door behind him. He stopped when he noticed someone was lying on his couch. "What the hell?" He said, confused to see Anko sleeping on his couch. The man sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "I bet you were trying to scare me or something, right?" He said and looked at her again before he carried her into his room, lay her down on his bed. "Well, good night, dango eating troublemaker." He said and was about to left the room before Anko grabbed his hand in her sleep. "Don't leave me…you idiot…" She said in her sleep. A vein was visible on Mugen's temple and he was about to say something before he saw a scared expression on the woman's face. The man sighed and took off his jacket, got on the bed and lie next to her. _"It's nothing, you're just helping your friend. Your best friend that you dear so much despite how she always teases you like hell."_ He thought and closed his eyes.

Next morning, Anko mumbled and laughed in her sleep as she dreamt she scared Mugen in his apartment. As she turned to her right, there was something hard next to her, a mass. She stretched her arms out and rubbed her eye before she looked what was next to her. She was surprised to see Mugen and almost jumped off from the bed but couldn't. She looked behind her and saw the man's hand held her. Then, she looked around, noticing that she was now in another room. She looked down at Mugen with a peaceful expression as he slept soundly. The kunoichi kissed his cheek and whispered, "Thanks for being here for me.." She smiled and slowly slipped herself off the bed, jumped at his window frame and crouched as she turned to look at him. Mugen turned and didn't noticed she was not next to him. Anko looked back outside and jumped out, feeling better and the pain from the Curse Mark was gone. Mugen turned and felt empty on the other side of the bed, he forced himself to open his eyes and see Anko was no longer next to him. "Already woke up, huh..?" He said and yawned while stretching his arms out.

The man jumped out of the bed and slowly making his way to the kitchen to make breakfast. While he was doing so, there was a knock on the door. "Great…Just when I was hungry and make something for myself, there's a visitor…" He said and sighed while someone kept knocking on the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" He said and swung the door open. "What is it?!" He yelled out and two Anbu's jumped back by surprise. "Jeez, Senpai…woke at the wrong side of the bed today?" One of them asked and walked in when Mugen walked back to the kitchen. "Shut it, what's up, what happened, when did it happened, why did it happened, at what time and place?!" Mugen asked from how hungry he was. "We'll tell you just eat something, please!" They said while raised their hands at him.

The man drank his tea and let out a satisfied sigh, along with a wide smile on his face. "I feel so much alive~ Sorry for earlier, what's up?" He said and asked. The two put down their cups of tea and nodded. "The team from the Hidden Sound pulled themselves out from the Finals. Due to the team members injuries Harawa claimed." The Anbu said and the other continued. "When we went to his and his team's room, they were already gone. The guards and other Anbu members didn't see them left the village and we're still looking for them in the village." He said and Mugen nodded. The man then clicked his tongue and now thinking they were probably the enemy they were looking for. "Keep the security tight and deploy guards on the walls. Did the Third gave any orders to you or the others?" Mugen said and asked.

"Be discreet and keep our guard up." The Anbu simply said and earned a nod from Mugen, dismissing them. The man sighed and scratched behind his head before there was another knock on his door. "Oh hey, Naruto. Training, right?" Mugen asked and the boy nodded. They both gone to the Training Field and Mugen decided to sharpen Naruto's Taijutsu. He thought he would needed that after seeing his technique, the Naruto Uzumaki Barrage. "Use your clones more, they're good for a lot of things but I'm sure you already know that by now since you always use that technique, right?" Said Mugen, while guarding himself from the blonde's punches and kicks, and also fought him back. As soon as he got a hit on the boy, Naruto turned into a puff of smoke. _"A clone-?! Shit!"_ Mugen saw Naruto's clones coming up behind him at the corner of his eye and didn't notice three more were running up to him from the front.

"Here we go! Na-Ru-To Uzumaki Barrage!" Naruto performed the technique and celebrated when the lifeless body of the Jounin fell on the ground. "Ha! Finally got you, Sensei! Sensei? Hello~?" Naruto and his clones walked up to the unconscious man, poking him to try waking him up. Then the man turned into a puff of smoke and there were three red papers at his place. "Oh shit! Exploding tags!" Naruto realized and was about to run before it was too late. The tags exploded and the clones, along with the original, flew into the air. Naruto finally fell to the ground and the world was spinning around him. Mugen chuckled as he walked up to the Genin. "You were close, I give you that. And that is it with your training. Take the time to rest and if you want to train, maybe continue to try and summon something. Okay?" Said Mugen.

"A-alright, Sensei…Just stop moving around me so fast…" Said Naruto, still dizzy. Mugen took out his Make Out Series and knocked Naruto's head with it to snap him out of it.


	15. Chapter 15: Training With Sasuke

**Author's Note: Sorry for the very late update! Here's the two chapters! Enjoy^^/**

Training With Sasuke

Kakashi was waiting for Mugen at Ichiraku Ramen as he had told them earlier that he wanted to meet him for Sasuke's training. "Excuse me. Yo, Kakashi." Mugen said as he walked in and greeted the owner, Teuchi. The man took a seat next to his friend and ordered a glass of water. "You're late." Kakashi simply said and that made Mugen chuckled. "Talking about yourself over there? I heard you were always late meeting your team." Said Mugen, thanked Teuchi for giving him the glass of water that he really needed. "Oh? Are you sure it's me? Maybe you thought of someone else there." Said Kakashi, denying it and finishing his ramen. At the same time, Kakashi put down his bowl while Mugen put down his empty glass. _"Please don't start a fight…Please don't start a fight…It would be an interesting fight but not in my shop!"_ Teuchi hoped while had his eye on them.

"Dad, I'm back! Oh! Hey, Mugen! Kakashi!" Ayame greeted, with her usual cheery smile. After not receiving any answer from the man, Ayame turned to her father. "What the heck is going on here?" She whispered and her dad shrugged. The two looked closely at their two customers and fell to the ground when they dozed off. "HEY, WAKE UP!" Ayame yelled and slammed her hand on the table. Worked like a charm, the woke up and looked at each other. "You too, huh?" Mugen asked, with his eyes and Kakashi's weren't visible. The white haired Jounin gave a nod, "Yeah…" He said, making Teuchi and Ayame more curious than before. "What the heck happened, you two?!" Ayame asked. Both slowly looked up at her and color drained from their faces, "The new issue of the Make Out Series isn't out yet…" They said in unison and Ayame simply told them to go home.

The two men walked down the street and serious this time. Hopefully. "So, he already knew what his chakra nature is, huh? And you taught him Chidori too?" Mugen asked and Kakashi responded with nods. "You kinda know how to use Chidori, right? So, I thought you train him to perfected his Chidori. Can you do that?" Said Kakashi and stopped when he asked him the question. Mugen stopped as well and gave a thought. "Sure, leave him to me." Said Mugen, and Kakashi told him to meet Sasuke by the Village Gates. He will also showed him where he and Kakashi usually train.

On the next day, Sasuke was making his way to the village gates early in the morning. And to his surprise, instead of waiting for Kakashi, Mugen was waiting for him. The man noticed his presence and gave a short wave, "Yo." Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes as he walks up to the man. "I'm guessing Kakashi ditched me with you, huh?" Sasuke asked and received no answer from him. "Sensei? Hey-!" Sasuke stopped when Mugen rubbed his knuckle into the boy's head. "What's with that attitude of yours, huh? Who the hell do you think I am, you bastard..!" Said Mugen, making expressions of a thug. Sasuke stopped him by grabbing his hand, "O-okay, I'm sorry." He said and Mugen laughed, patting the boy's back. "I was just pulling your leg, Sasuke! I'll be taking over your training until the finals! Come on, live a little!" Mugen said while laughing and patting Sasuke's back. Sasuke glared at him and sighed, "Alright then, let's go." Said Sasuke and he walked past him, Mugen followed.

Mugen whistled as he looked around at the training area. Smashed boulders, cracked ground and a lot of debris. "You really did a number on those innocent boulders, Sasuke." Said Mugen, earning a confused look from the young Uchiha. "Uh, sorry?" Sasuke said as he didn't know if he should apologized or not. "Nevermind about that, let's get down to business." The man said and cracked his knuckles. He told Sasuke to use Chidori as long as he can while smashing the rocks and boulders around them. "It's all about chakra control so, show me what an Uchiha can do!" Mugen said and Sasuke followed his instructions as his will was lit on fire by his words. Mugen would sometimes help him by showing him how to intensify the Chidori and demonstrated him but most of the time he would just watch.

"Alright, that is it for now. Get some rest while I get the fire ready for our camp." Said Mugen and walked away to get some firewood as well as food. Sasuke nodded and waited Mugen was out of sight before he let his body fall on the ground. The boy sighed and catch his breath. The two were sitting by the warm and brightly lit fire, waiting for their fish to cook. "Are you okay? Need any healing?" Mugen asked while poking the sticks in the fire with another stick. Sasuke simply gave a nod and watch the flickering flame. "Is Itachi your goal, Sasuke?" Mugen asked, without looking at him. Sasuke shot up his head and looked at him in surprise, before he turned away. "Yeah, what of it? You want to stop me and said that it's wrong goal or something?" He asked with anger and hatred in every word. "Well, usually that's what most people would say. And calm down, Itachi isn't going anywhere. Here." Said Mugen and handed him a cooked fish. "You can't fight with an empty stomach, right?" He said while Sasuke looked at him, confused and surprised by his reaction. The boy grabbed the cook fish and closed his eyes. "Sensei.." Sasuke called him. "Hm?" The man responded as he just bite into his fish. Sasuke grew a smirk on his face, "Thanks for the food." He said and bites into his meal. Mugen nodded, "Yup."

On the next day, they started the training at full throttle. "Itachi is strong, way strong. Revenge is a bad thing and even though I don't understand that anger of from your parents died but everyone lost things that are precious to them." Said Mugen, while watching Sasuke smashing more boulders. "So I was right, you would tell me that my goal is wrong." Said Sasuke as he stopped to catch his breath. "I'm not saying it's wrong and I'm not saying it's right either!" Mugen said and Sasuke gripped his knees, "Then what are you trying to say then?!" Sasuke asked, looking at the man with frustration and anger. "To learn about the truth, that should be your goal. And beat some sens into him." Said Mugen and he walked up to him. "Sure, you need power to fight someone like him but going through it alone is not meant that you are strong. It's foolish." Said Mugen and his answer made Sasuke's eyes widened. "You have friends and comrades in this village, don't forget them. Don't let yourself carry that burden. You can become strong, everyone is strong in their own way. Now, let's finish this training and kick ass in the finals!" Said Mugen and held out his fist. Sasuke looked at him and his fist before gently hit it with his fist.

On the day of the finals, everyone was waiting restlessly because Sasuke hasn't arrived yet and any longer will cause him to disqualify. "Come on, where are you, Sasuke?" Naruto asked and clenched his fist until the wind blew harshly, leaves were dancing all over the place. "The heck is with this wind?" Ino said while covering herself from the wind as well as Sakura and everyone else. Then, the girl saw something in the arena and saw Sasuke and Mugen appeared. The wind died down and everyone was impressed by the entrance the two made. "Hey, Genma. Are we still in?" Mugen asked and the proctor smirked, told them they just barely made it. Mugen nodded and turned to the boy next to him. "Good luck." He said and patted his shoulder, earned a nod from him.


	16. Chapter 16: Invasion

Invasion

"Hey, what did I miss?" Mugen asked as he jumped on the stands and met Naruto, Guy and Kakashi. "You missed me winning, that's all!" Said Naruto and he grinned at him. Mugen smiled and gave him a high five before Shikamaru interrupted their celebration. "You're not the only one who won, you know." He said and Naruto put his arm around him, goofing around with him while Mugen walked up to Guy and Kakashi. "Hey, how was the training?" Kakashi asked and Mugen told him not to worry. "I see, thanks for training him for me. Looks like we're going to see the fruit of his training soon! Oh, the power of youth!" Guy said and his body was on fire by how passionate he was. TenTen looked at her sensei and just let out a sigh.

As the match had begun, Mugen took the time to look around. To see if there was anyone suspicious lurking or hiding. He excused himself from Kakashi and Guy, and went ahead to walk around at the back of the audience. He noticed there were a few Anbus in the stand and noticed some more running around or jumping on the roofs. _"Looks like the security is tight."_ He thought and walked around more. The man stopped when he noticed an Anbu wearing a black cloak was gone and then, a loud crushing sound could be heard from a far along with the sounds of explosions. The first thing that came to his mind was the Third Hokage and he was about to make his way but stopped on his tracks as the world around his was spinning. "Genjutsu, huh? Why does it have to be Genjutsu?! Release!" He said and everything around him was back to normal except that the audience were asleep. Mugen noticed Sasuke and Gaara were gone, assumed they were fighting out of the arena.

"Damn it, we've been had! Hey, wake up! Summoning Jutsu!" Mugen slammed his hand on the floor and summoned Naka. "What do you want?" Naka asked, grumpily as he was woken from his nap. Mugen pointed him to the three head snake at the distance, "Get rid of that thing for me, thanks!" Mugen said and ran off before Naka could say anything. The tiger sighed and jumped from roof to roof towards the monstrous snake. Mugen knocked out the Sound Ninjas that were in his way and smirked when he saw his friends were awake. "I'll leave them to you guys!" He said and jumped onto the roof while Kakashi and Guy knocked the Sound ninjas out.

As he just got himself on the roof, Mugen analyzed the situation. The Anbu was knocked out cold and he saw the Kazekage talking to the Third. Mugen hurried over to the Hokage before an Anbu wearing a black cloak stopped him in tracks by standing in his way. Mugen's hand was over the handle of his katanas. "You're not a real Anbu, are you? You must be pretty clever to disguise as an Anbu without they figure you out." He said and pulled out one of his katanas. The enemy didn't said anything and got into his stance with scalpels in his hands. Mugen looked at him with surprise as he remembered a boy from his past used the same technique and that made him grip onto the sword tightly. "You're that Kabuto brat working for Orochimaru…right?" He said and the enemy laughed at him. "Finally figured it out, huh? I've got to admit though, Mugen. Seriously, you were the thorn of our side the whole time we're here in the Village, with all those security and having the Anbu keep an eye on me." Said Kabuto, removed the mask and threw it away.

Both ran towards each other and their blades clashed. Mugen managed to break Kabuto's guard and kept swinging at him. "So, hows Anko? Is she still traumatize under that smile of hers?" Kabuto asked, taunted the man and it worked. Mugen was riled up by his words and swung widely, causing an opening for Kabuto to kick his side. Mugen hissed in pain and put his hand on his side. "Is that all from the Tiger of the Leaf? Pathetic." Kabuto taunted and looked down on him with a smirk on his face. Mugen pulled out an exploding tag and threw it towards the young man. Kabuto laughed because he easily dodged the tag, "Seriously? You thought you would get me with that?" He asked.

"Not you but him is a different story." Said Mugen, glaring past Kabuto. The man looked where he was looking and his expression changed into horror. "Orochimaru-Sama!" He called out and watched Mugen ran past him. "Where do you think you're going-!" He was about to grab the man before he noticed another exploding tag behind him and jumped away from the explosion. While the Third and Orochimaru had their own stand off, Mugen jumped over the Hokage and glared at the wanted ninja. "Oh, Mugen. How nice of you to drop in, hows Anko by the way?" Said Orochimaru, chuckled. "Still alive and kicking. She has been looking everywhere for you to give you some payback and the same goes to me." Said Mugen. He turned when the Hokage walked up behind him and patted his shoulder. "Let me handle Orochimaru, Mugen. No, don't you argue with me! He is my student and it is my responsibility to correct him." The Third insisted and Mugen stepped down.

"Just don't die, Old Man." Said Mugen, pulling out his other katana. Hiruzen chuckled and had a smirk on his face before he took off his Hokage clothing and reveal his battle armor. "Who the hell are you talking to? I'm the Hokage, I won't die so easily." He said and they both rushed towards their own enemy. Mugen against Kabuto and Hiruzen against one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. Whilst Mugen fought and clashed blades with Kabuto, also knocked out the Sound ninjas that joined in and helped Kabuto, he noticed there was a big purple barrier behind him. _"Old man…"_ Mugen couldn't stop thinking about him. Was he worry too much for the elder? Why couldn't he shake this bad feeling away? "Eyes on me, Tiger!" Kabuto said as he was about to cut the man with his scalpel and barely gave a scratch thanks to the man's reflexes. Mugen blocked the attack with his katana and swung at him, unfortunately he managed to cut his robe.

"What's the purpose of your invasion?" Mugen asked and got back into his stance. Kabuto smirked and chuckled, "What else? To destroy the Leaf, that was Orochimaru-Sama's wish." He said and his expression was replaced with horror or surprise as he saw electricity flowing on Mugen's katana blade. "Oh? Like we would let something like that happen. Have you forgotten that we have a lot of skillful shinobis in this village?" Mugen said calmly and his stance changed, he was ready to strike. "Don't underestimate us just because you caught us by surprise, you damn brat." He said and his katana blade lit up from the intensity of the flowing electricity.

Naka easily jumped form building to building, went past the battles between the Sound and the Leaf below him. "Hey, you slithering bastard! Or bastards!" Naka called out and growled at them before he jumped onto them, ran up on one of them while the others tried to capture him with their mouth. He jumped and scratched one of their eyes, making one of them wriggling and slammed itself into the wall of the village. Naka landed on the injured snake's head, jumped high into the air and he suddenly covered in a puff of smoke. Then, he become bigger, way bigger and easily sat on the three headed snake until they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naka yawned and turned to look at the direction where his summoner was, "Out of all things you gave me, you gave me the most easiest shit." He said and grunted before some of the Leaf Jounin and Chuunin thanked him for stopping the monster. Naka blushed and turned away from them, "Y-yeah, no problem…Hm? What the hell?!" As Naka turned away from the ninjas, he saw a Tailed Beast, Shikaku. "You guys can take it from here, right?" He asked the little people on the buildings and they gave him a nod. "Alright, I'll leave it to you!" He said and made a dash towards the Tailed Beast. His nose picked up some scents near it and he picked up a familiar scent, the Nine Tails. "Why is that brat doing there? Better protect him or else Mugen is going to give me an earful." He said and changed back to his normal tiger size , as his original size was when he was a giant.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Hammer!" Mugen yelled and slammed his sword but missed the target and instead hit the roof, the impact didn't destroy the building but destroyed the tiles on the roof. Kabuto chuckled, "I'm not as stupid as you think, Mugen. I know that you are stronger than me, I'm just here to stall you for Orochimaru-Sama." He said with a smirk until his expression changed into shock. _"I…I can't move my body? It's from the impact..! The shock wave must've got to me and paralyzed my body!"_ Kabuto thought and cursed at the man. Kabuto looked up at the man before him, glaring at him ignoring the electricity coursing through his body as they felt nothing but tingles. Mugen was about to cut him in half before he noticed the barrier that trapped Hiruzen and Orochimaru, shattered. He stopped and watched the barrier fall to pieces while Kabuto watched in horror. _"Did something happened to Orochimaru-Sama?! Tsk, damn you, Mugen!"_ Kabuto thought while he struggled himself to move. Mugen then turned to another direction and he squinted his eyes to make out what was at the distance. His eyes widened and guessed that brownish monster is the Jinchuuriki from the Sand. "He lost control of it, huh? And looks like he's fighting someone- Gamabunta?! Is Jiraiya over there? I thought he had some business to do… could it be Naruto?" Mugen talked and asked himself. He was worried at first for the boy's safety but knew that Naka would picked up his scent and rushed over there. He also believed the boy could change Gaara as he is also a Jinchuuriki. Mugen turned his back on the scene of the Tailed Beast. _"Stay safe…Naruto..!"_

As Mugen made his way to the barrier, he noticed a few Sound ninjas retreated but they seemed different from the ones he fought. He didn't put much thought into it as Hiruzen's well being was his top priority. He assumed the elder had defeated Orochimaru, causing for both the Sound ninjas to retreat and for the barrier to break. "Hey, secure that four eyes back there." Mugen ordered one of the Anbu that just woke up. As he got close to the mess, he stopped on his tracks, shocked to see Hiruzen lying on the ground instead of Orochimaru. His blood was boiling and he clenched his fists tightly, "OLD MAN!"


	17. Chapter 17: The Will of Fire

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! How are you guys doing and how was your day today? ^^/ Sorry for the late update, I was busy with moving and other personal stuff along with getting a few chapters ready for you guys. Thank you for keep reading, welcome new readers and thank you for reading as well!**

The Will of Fire

Hiruzen's vision was started to become blurry and as he was about to close his eyes, a voice woke him back up. He moved his eyes to the direction of the voice and saw Mugen, looking at him with a combination of both anger and worry. Then, he saw him turned to Orochimaru and heard him yelling something at him before charging at him. Like the slippery snake he was, he managed to avoid Mugen's attacks, fought him back with his sword in mouth. Despite not being able to lift his arms. As Hiruzen watched the two fought, he remembered what he had said to his former student.

Before the barrier was broken and the victor was revealed, Orochimaru and Hiruzen had a stand off. Orochimaru with his usual smirk while Hiruzen with his also usual, serious expression but also mixed with tiredness. "Just give it up, Old Man, for your village sake." The Sannin said, chuckling. Hiruzen's summon, Lord Enma, looked behind him towards the Hokage. _"Hiruzen…"_ He thought, as he got a bad feeling in this dispute. "It's over, old man. You will die like the old dog you are and watch your village burn to ashes." Said Orochimaru, with a smirk on his face. He knew his sensei was at his limit, despite being able to keep up with him as to be expected from the Third Hokage. But now, he was covered in dirt, cuts and bruises while panting and keep his eyes on his student. "I won't give up, Orochimaru…and so does the Village..! You lived here before, have you forgot?" Said Hiruzen before Orochimaru appeared right in front of him with his blade penetrated through his body.

Enma and Hiruzen was caught by surprised, the world around them seemed to be frozen in place. Unfortunately for Enma, because Hiruzen was badly injured and he was also used a lot of his chakra, returned to his own world and left his summoner. Orochimaru snickered before he leaned forward and whispered the old man's ear, "Forgot what, Sensei?" He asked. Hiruzen coughed out blood and did his best to stay awake. "You…should know about the Will of Fire, Orochimaru…Not just the shinobi in this village has that, but even the villagers themselves..Your plan will be ruined…the Leaf won't fall…as long as that flame still burns!" Hiruzen went ahead and did some handsigns. A ghostly and demonic figure appeared behind Hiruzen, its caster. It smiled down on both mortals before it. "Those jutsus that you so proud of and worked so hard…I'm going to take them all away!" Hiruzen said and Orochimaru was about to jump back, to create distance between them but failed when the Third grasped his hands onto his shoulders.

Orochimaru struggled and helplessly watched as the demon's hand came out from Hiruzen's stomach and reached into Orochimaru's. The Sannin's eyes were widened as he watched his own soul getting pulled out from his body. "You foolish old man! You wouldn't dare!" He yelled and received a smirk from him. Orochimaru grabbed his sword and pulled it out from Hiruzen in one swift motion, making him groaned in pain. Blood started to pour out from the wound and Hiruzen knew he couldn't take Orochimaru's whole soul and decided to order the demon to cut a part of it. The demon obeyed and cut using a small blade. Orochimaru stopped from cutting his sensei in half. _"W-what's going on?! I can't feel my arms!"_ He thought and heard a loud clang as his sword was dropped on the roof. The man was surprised to see both of his arms turned purple, they were dead.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY ARMS, OLD MAN?!" Orochimaru yelled while watching Hiruzen's body fell forward and blood kept coming out, creating a pool of it under the body. Then, Orochimaru remembered what he had said. _"Those jutsus that you so proud of and worked so hard…I'm going to take them all away!"_ His eyes widened from the realization and didn't noticed the barrier around him had shattered. "As long as we have bonds to each other in this village…the Will of Fire will never blew out..!" Hiruzen said with a smile and slowly closed his eyes. As he closed his eyes, he heard someone yelled out his name from afar.

 _"Hmmm? Who's there..?"_ Hiruzen opened his eyes slightly and watched Mugen fighting Orochimaru. He could see the rage on his face, bright red eyes and whiskers on his cheeks, making him sigh on the inside. _"Damn it…I couldn't even go in peace…"_ He thought and decided to stay conscious a little longer before calling out the man before him.

"Mugen…" Hiruzen breathed out and Mugen shook his head while about to grab one of his blades to heal him. "Safe your strength, old man! I'm going to seal the wound and get you straight to the hospital!" He said and his eyes widened when the old man in front of him gently put his hand on his arm, stopping him from what he was doing. "Don't bother, Mugen…We both know what is going to happen to me…" He said and Mugen hung his head, slamming his fist into the roof. "There you go again, destroying things even when I'm dying…Hahaha…both you and him are the same…How's the village..?" Hiruzen said and asked softly. Mugen gently held him up while he watched the elder in his hands with his blurry vision. Hiruzen felt a few drops of water on his face and he chuckled, "It's been awhile since I last seen you cry…Miss me already?" He said and chuckled. Mugen sniffed and rubbed his eyes, wiping the tears away. "Shut up.."

"Try to control your anger, Mugen…you have a fraction of the Nine Tails' chakra inside you, coursing through your veins…Try to control it…tame it…and understand it…Tell him the same…so that he doesn't stray into a path of hatred.." Said Hiruzen, earned a nod from Mugen. The man touched his own cheek, feeling the whiskers and looked at his long and sharp nails. "As now that I'm about to go…watch over the village for me…watch over those brats…guide them.." Said Hiruzen, his heart beat has started to slow down. Mugen swallowed his saliva and nodded. He laid Hiruzen back on the roof and put his hands on his stomach. He put his hand on Hiruzen's, "Don't you worry, Old Man Sarutobi…The Will of Fire still burns. I will make sure of it…" He said and his nails went back to normal, his whiskers vanished and his eyes turned back to its original color. Anbu, along with other Jounins and Chuunins gathered around Mugen and the passed Hokage.

The dark clouds covered the skies. Rain poured down, washing away the aftermath of the attack. Everyone was out in the rain, attending the funeral of the Third Hokage. Some sobbed or cry while others just looked at the Hokage's picture on the memorial and people taking turns putting white flowers in front of the frame. It was Mugen's turn and he looked down at the flower in his hand with the sound of the downpour and Konohamaru's cry. The man blamed himself for what happened, he grasped on the flower tightly while tears flowing out from his eyes and mixed with the rain.

 _"I know you would said that it was not my fault, old man…I should lift my head high and focus to prevent this from happening again…but…"_ Mugen chocked up and closed his eyes. Then, he opened them and saw a hand on top of his. He turned his head and looked to see it was Anko. Even she wasn't in her high spirits but in her eyes, there was a fire. Mugen remembered what he had said to Hiruzen and thought, _"The Will of Fire still burns in this cold rain, Old Man…"_ Mugen smiled at the kunoichi and she smiled back. They both walked up to the picture and put their flowers with the rest. Then, the rain had stopped and everyone looked up as the rays of light made through the dark clouds. Mugen tightened his grip on Anko's hands, without even realizing that they were still holding hands.


End file.
